I
am a historian who uses imaginative literature as a source
of evidence
and insight into the history of technology.
This interview gives a good
introduction to me and my work:
WGBH interview [video]
[transcript]
Welcome to my website!
Here you can find:
- Writing: Information about books and texts of shorter pieces
- Teaching: Descriptions, syllabi, OpenCourseWare links
- Service: MIT Service and Outside Service
- Curriculum vitae: short, medium, and long forms
- Personal: Family past and present
“Because the engineering and science are part of the human condition and part of the human enterprise, and they cannot stand by themselves. Unless they're intertwined with understanding how history works and how people work and how civilization works, they aren't going to accomplish anything.”
“Our powers of creativity outrun our ability to control our own creativity. “
“[Often] history is thought of as great men and wars and events. There's another history. It has to do with the butterfly, the river. I would say it also has to do with cell phones. It has to do with donkey engines on the farm. It has to do with beloved places that are changed by development or not changed. It's a farm that you live on, that you sell. That too is history, and that's history of technology, but it's deeply human.”
This page was last updated on March 20, 2009.
Website problems should be addressed to me at rhwill@mit.edu.