Design World

  • Home
  • Technologies
    • ELECTRONICS • ELECTRICAL
    • Fastening • joining
    • FLUID POWER
    • LINEAR MOTION
    • MOTION CONTROL
    • SENSORS
    • TEST & MEASUREMENT
    • Factory automation
    • Warehouse automation
    • DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
  • Learn
    • Tech Toolboxes
    • Learning center
    • eBooks • Tech Tips
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars • general engineering
    • Webinars • Automated warehousing
    • Voices
  • LEAP Awards
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2021 Winners
  • Design Guides
  • Resources
    • Subscribe
    • 3D Cad Models
      • PARTsolutions
      • TraceParts
    • Digital Issues
      • Design World
      • EE World
    • Engineering diversity
    • Trends
  • Supplier Listings
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

August 2019 Special Edition: Motion Systems Handbook

By Reggie Hall | August 20, 2019

What ancient myths can teach us about today’s technology

As our editorial team was preparing this year’s Motion Systems Handbook, covering the basics of motion technologies as well as their ongoing evolution, I began to wonder about the origins of the technology we cover. This got me thinking about the idea of control systems and automation more generally.

This wonderment intersected with some of my summer reading, in particular Adrienne Mayor’s absorbing book Gods and Robots, subtitled “Myths, Machines, and Ancient Dreams of Technology.” One of the most revealing features of the book is that Mayor recounts, in great detail, vivid examples from the ancient Greek world of what we would recognize as some of the first automated systems. We discover that the ancient Greeks conceived of many of the technologies that we’re familiar with today – the desire for flight, animated statutes (proto-robots), artificial life forms, biological enhancements to human bodies, and more.

The stories and myths in which these technologies appear, in fact, continue to enthrall us today. In many ways, they functioned as some of the earliest forms of science fiction by taking the actual state of things and imagining how a small change here or there, or the addition of a new technology, brings about a new reality in some at first exciting but then quickly terrifying way.

The myths served many functions, one of which was as cautionary tales and lessons about our own humanity, reminding us of the price paid for acting on our desires. Take, for instance, the story of Prometheus, and his lesser-known brother Epimetheus. Prometheus (meaning “forethought”) is portrayed as the helper of humanity, giving them the gift of fire that enables human progress and civilization. His brother Epimetheus (meaning “afterthought”) in some stories is made responsible for all of humanity’s problems having thoughtlessly accepted the gifts of Pandora from the gods.

However, even the story of Prometheus contains within it an ambivalent attitude towards human curiosity, that which propels science and knowledge, but also is not without often unintended, undesirable consequences.

Not surprisingly, a quick glance at science fiction writing over the years reveals a related concern with unintended outcomes of technological development. In the early 19th century, it was Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (originally subtitled “The Modern Prometheus”), with its anxieties about the consequences of the industrial revolution. In the aftermath of World War II and the development and use of nuclear weapons, it was the Japanese figure of Godzilla that projected the fears of the new nuclear age. Today, countless stories and movies portray our collective anxieties about the rise of robots and artificial intelligence. We’re even seeing some observers questioning the value of social media given the hatred and intimidation it aids in spreading across the internet and into the real world.

The ancient Greek myths remind us that the desire to automate processes, to create artificial life forms that would do our bidding and make our lives easier is as old as human civilization itself. And yet, the dark side of the myths were there to warn humans, reminding them of the things that they’d perhaps not want reminded of; the persistence of human shortsightedness, ignorance, and other darker, destructive motivations.

Today, as humans attempt to come to terms with the negative consequences of climate change including the ways in which our industrial activity has altered the planet, we need to think now more than ever about the consequences of our technological development. These ancient lessons are something humans in the 21st century should not forget as we continue to build versions of our own imagined worlds.

MILES BUDIMIR | SENIOR EDITOR

You Might Also Like


Filed Under: AI • machine learning, DIGITAL ISSUES • DESIGN WORLD

 

LEARNING CENTER

Design World Learning Center
“dw
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, tools and strategies for Design Engineering Professionals.
Motor University

Design World Digital Edition

cover

Browse the most current issue of Design World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading design engineering magazine today.

EDABoard the Forum for Electronics

Top global problem solving EE forum covering Microcontrollers, DSP, Networking, Analog and Digital Design, RF, Power Electronics, PCB Routing and much more

EDABoard: Forum for electronics

Sponsored Content

  • Sustainability, Innovation and Safety, Central to Our Approach
  • Why off-highway is the sweet spot for AC electrification technology
  • Looking to 2025: Past Success Guides Future Achievements
  • North American Companies Seek Stronger Ties with Italian OEMs
  • Adapt and Evolve
  • Sustainable Practices for a Sustainable World
View More >>
Engineering Exchange

The Engineering Exchange is a global educational networking community for engineers.

Connect, share, and learn today »

Design World
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Manage your Design World Subscription
  • Subscribe
  • Design World Digital Network
  • Control Engineering
  • Consulting-Specifying Engineer
  • Plant Engineering
  • Engineering White Papers
  • Leap Awards

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search Design World

  • Home
  • Technologies
    • ELECTRONICS • ELECTRICAL
    • Fastening • joining
    • FLUID POWER
    • LINEAR MOTION
    • MOTION CONTROL
    • SENSORS
    • TEST & MEASUREMENT
    • Factory automation
    • Warehouse automation
    • DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
  • Learn
    • Tech Toolboxes
    • Learning center
    • eBooks • Tech Tips
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars • general engineering
    • Webinars • Automated warehousing
    • Voices
  • LEAP Awards
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2021 Winners
  • Design Guides
  • Resources
    • Subscribe
    • 3D Cad Models
      • PARTsolutions
      • TraceParts
    • Digital Issues
      • Design World
      • EE World
    • Engineering diversity
    • Trends
  • Supplier Listings
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
We use cookies to personalize content and ads, to provide social media features, and to analyze our traffic. We share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising, and analytics partners who may combine it with other information you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use this website.OkNoRead more