Guest Thinkers — December 14, 2009

A Stimulating History

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Rarely has so much buzz surrounded a Big Think guest. It was our pleasure today to have historian of technology Dr. Rachel Maines in to discuss her bestselling 1999 volume, “The Technology of Orgasm: ‘Hysteria,’ Vibrators and Women’s Sexual Satisfaction,” as well as her participation in a recent New York Psychoanalytic Institute roundtable on “Love and Pleasure in the Age of Electricity.”

Upbeat and good-humored, Dr. Maines also discussed her new book on “Hedonizing Technologies”—that is, the technologies that have turned formerly productive tasks like hunting and gardening into leisure activities. Her interview will be posted in January.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

A large group of people, some standing and some sitting, gather outdoors in front of a tent and a horse-drawn carriage, set against a grassy field with a few trees in the background.

The Past

The anxious history of the American summer camp

The annual rite of passage has always been more about the ambivalence of adults than the amusement of children.

Person holding an open, empty brown wallet with both hands, outdoors.

The Past

The deep and enduring history of universal basic income

While the concept stretches back centuries, it has garnered significant attention in recent decades.

The Present

We have the tools and technology to work less and live better

We can produce more stuff with less labor. So why are we still working?

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