Can you think of an example of when a color could be said to have "changed the world"? [more inside]
posted by Ziggurat on Aug 10, 2009 - 32 answers

What inventions/societal changes besides cell phones have effectively "ruined" plot devices for stories in movies, TV, books, and so forth? [more inside]
posted by ckolderup on Aug 5, 2009 - 50 answers

I am looking for writings on mimesis in regards new, digital, hypertext and hypermedial technologies and cultures. [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Feb 16, 2009 - 7 answers

I heard a term somewhere that referred to the modern phenomena of sounds being decoupled from what produces them, in the sense that it's no longer a one-to-one relationship between sound and thing. So whereas previously every time you heard a bark you knew it was a dog, now it could be a TV, a computer, or a robot dog. Likewise, a big professional sound system could sound like almost anything. I think the originator was an academic. I distinctly remembering seeing mention of this on wikipedia once. What was that term? Who coined it?
posted by phrontist on Dec 9, 2008 - 5 answers

Looking for good books on the history of technologies. [more inside]
posted by pombe on Jul 16, 2008 - 17 answers

How is the meaning of art and artefacts being altered by the methods we use to: Experience, Define and Preserve them... In other words, in what ways have technologies been used to experience, re-define and/or preserve art and artifacts? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Feb 5, 2008 - 12 answers

What kinds of high-technology things exist now but will only come to light 50 or 100 years from now? Speculative, but asking for concrete answers. [more inside]
posted by exlotuseater on Nov 30, 2007 - 41 answers

Please help me figure out how to obtain an electronic copy of an article titled "Why 1955? Explaining the Advent of Rock Music," by Richard A. Peterson. Google Books has a truncated version here, but I'd like the whole thing. [more inside]
posted by univac on Oct 22, 2007 - 7 answers

I have an audio cassette tape which has been waterlogged and soaked in dirt for over 10 years. What are my options for respooling/fixing the tape with its contents intact? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Dec 26, 2006 - 12 answers

What are some good examples of technologies that end up being used for different or more numerous purposes than originally intended? [more inside]
posted by TunnelArmr on Apr 17, 2006 - 39 answers

What are some facts, rumors, and speculation about secretive/mysterious organizations or events? [more inside]
posted by foraneagle2 on Jan 11, 2006 - 20 answers

A colleague of mine wants to show a film (or clips from various films) to her class of media undergrads to help them better understand the pre-wired world -- before the Internet, ubiquitous PCs, mobile phones, 300 cable channels, etc. -- and specifically the 1960s milieu of IBM mainframes, punch cards, and centralized computing. Are there any films or even scenes from films that come to mind?
posted by tranquileye on Jan 3, 2004 - 20 answers