It has been well articulated (with some of the consequences) in James Burkes' Connection series during the "good old days" of the beeb.
Would people know why is it cold inside the fridge, while it is hot outside? Or what makes the cold stay inside the box? Nevertheless, almost everybody relies on a fridge ...and almost nobody knows what actually it is. Tricky situation indeed on the long run...
I really enjoyed the Connections2 series that was available on American cable TV a few years back, but I know of few people who have. I think my country has developed a real hostility to learning the history of anything, technologically or otherwise. I've never watched it, but I've had similarly minded co-worker point out how much the movie Idiocracy rang true as a premise. I weep for the future...
Would people know why is it cold inside the fridge, while it is hot outside? Or what makes the cold stay inside the box? Nevertheless, almost everybody relies on a fridge ...and almost nobody knows what actually it is. Tricky situation indeed on the long run...
Somebody has made the series available on:
http://www.youtube.com/profile_play_list?user=JamesBurkeFan
but the account has been closed. There are some traces on:
http://www.youtube.com/user/JamesBurkeWeb
You might like it: it is worth every minute.