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FAB The Coming Revolution on Your Desktop – From Personal
Computers to Personal Fabrication 2005 278 pages Complementary Texts Keywords Resources Copyright © 2000-2007 Isabel Pedersen |
Fab both describes and lobbies for a revolution concerning “personal fabrication.”
As the digital revolution has solidified into the norm, Gershenfeld calls for
a revolution in personal fabrication
which would put physical fabrication tools into the hands of everyday people.
The goal: To make the stuff you want to make, rather than have things made
for you. Gershenfeld is optimistic;
he writes, “personal fabrication is fulfilling individual desires rather than
merely meeting mass-market needs.” He returns to the theme of user agency throughout
the book: The purpose of bringing tool-making back into the
home is not to recreate the hardships of frontier living . . . Rather, it’s
to put control of the creation of technology back in the hands of its users
(8) Mimicking its
message, the book organizes themes according to the names of real people who
are influencing the “Fab Lab” movement in one way or another. Many of them
are making the things they want for themselves. These narratives concentrate on
human desires more than technological feats. Gershenfeld also provides an
interesting metacommentary at the end of the book on the origins for each of
his chapter ideas. All of these strategies support his notions of human empowerment
over technology. |