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12 - How Does the Whole Work?

from Part III - Our Story on Earth

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 September 2023

Raymond Hickey
Raymond Hickey
Affiliation:
University of Limerick
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Summary

As humans we are confronted with devices which are supposed to work and often do not. Just think of all the domestic appliances you have at home. Do all of them work? I am sure that you can remember the time when the toaster gave up the ghost or the torch in the garden shed did not work. We have a notion of device and we have an expectation that it will work. But when we say a device does not work, what do we mean? Generally, we mean that it does not perform the function we expect of it. If you put sliced bread into the toaster and press down the lever at the side and nothing happens you utter a sigh of frustration because the device is not working.

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Life and Language Beyond Earth , pp. 164 - 182
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • How Does the Whole Work?
  • Raymond Hickey, University of Limerick
  • Book: Life and Language Beyond Earth
  • Online publication: 16 September 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009229272.013
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  • How Does the Whole Work?
  • Raymond Hickey, University of Limerick
  • Book: Life and Language Beyond Earth
  • Online publication: 16 September 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009229272.013
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • How Does the Whole Work?
  • Raymond Hickey, University of Limerick
  • Book: Life and Language Beyond Earth
  • Online publication: 16 September 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009229272.013
Available formats
×