Short Stories about technology

Learning intentions

To build background knowledge to clarify text and deepen understanding.

To analyse and evaluate the elements of literary text.

Technology and smart-houses.

As a class, read the information on Frances Gabe, inventor of the self-cleaning house.

FRANCES GABE AND HER AMAZING SELF-CLEANING HOUSE!

Monday, October 23, 2017

Many people complain about cleaning their house but Frances Gabe actually did something about it!

She invented, patented and built a prototype house that cleaned itself! According to Gabe the self-cleaning house (SCH) “was never intended to scrub a dirty house or building, but to keep a clean house clean.”

In the March 1982 issue of People Magazine, Gabe said: “I want to eliminate all unnecessary motion so that handicapped and elderly people can care for themselves. My system will allow people to do so by pushing a few buttons.”

A scale model of Frances Gabe's house.

Born in 1915, Frances Grace Arnholz later married Herbert Bateson. For many years, together they ran a construction and maintenance company with her eventually taking the lead.

After a divorce, she changed her last name to Gabe which represents Grace Arnholz Bateson to which she added an “e." Her building experience led to her commitment to invent and build a self-cleaning house for her to live in.

Ms. Gabe’s patent application was filed in 1980 and she finally received patent number 4,428,08 on January 31, 1984 for Self-Cleaning Building Construction.

According to the patent: “A self-cleaning building construction comprises apparatus for applying a fine spray or mist of water and/or water and detergent to wall, floor and ceiling surfaces, followed by warm air drying. Floors slope in a direction for removing excess moisture via a drain. Also included are closet apparatus for cleaning clothing, cupboard dishwasher apparatus for cleaning stored dishes, self-cleaning bathtub apparatus, and self-cleaning washbasin apparatus.”

Her patent included 68 more inventions inside the house which waterproofed everything including plastic cases for books.

The house itself was comprised of two stories. The first floor contained the living and dining spaces as well as the kitchen. The second floor had a bathroom, bedroom, clothes closet and an outdoor patio space. Before earthquake damage in 2001, Ms. Gabe turned on the cleaning apparatus twice a year.

Interior of the second floor of the model.

Ms. Gabe spent many years publicizing her SCH. She participated in numerous radio and television interviews and charged a small fee to people who wanted to see the house.

Her hope was that many of these would be built throughout the country. Marketing materials she developed said: “the Self-Cleaning House safely and automatically washes and dries ceilings, wall, windows, floors, curtains, upholstery, dirty dishes, dirty clothes and books.”

She passed away on December 26, 2016.

Self-cleaning dishwasher model.

Hagley is extremely fortunate to have the model of Gabe’s SCH and other models, including her self-cleaning dishwasher, in the museum innovation collection.

Personally, because she was such a fascinating woman who was so creative, I am happy that she lives on in the internet because words in print just don’t do her justice.

Sources:

Frances Gabe interview, KGW News, 17 January 1990.
"Frances Gabe, Creator of the Only Self-Cleaning Home, Dies at 101," New York Times, 18 July 2017.

Discuss this article.

Do you have devices in your home that allow for automation of electricity, Alexa devices, or Siri. etc.

Journal response:

Do you think technology provides more benefits or poses more hazards to daily life?

There Will Come Soft Rains

by Ray Bradbury

This science fiction story describes a future in which technology has progressed to the point in which humans seem unnecessary.

There will come soft rains.pdf

TASK

1. What moment in the story was easy to visualize based on the details provided by the author. What image most easily comes to mind?

2. What unusual qualities and appliances does the house have?

3. What has happened outside the house?

4 . What finally destroys the house?

5. Bradbury published this story in 1950. Research modern "smart-houses". Find example of technology he describes that exists today.

‘Super toys last all summer long’ - Brian Aldiss (1969)

This short story explores the alienation felt by a robot boy who has been designed as a replacement for a real child in a world of population control. The artificial intelligence is advanced enough that David experiences emotions, but feels that his mother does not love him. The narrative explores issues of technological development and questions the ethics and responsibility of humanity in the development of artificial intelligence.

What happens when human beings create artificial beings to love them?

What is the human responsibility to these life forms?

supertoys_last_all_summer_long.pdf

TASK

Explore the setting in time and place. How is a specified, credible speculated world created? What tells us this is an imagined world? What genre is the text? What tropes indicate this?
Consider the narrative structure and sequencing of the text. The story alternates between a domestic setting and a corporate product launch. What is the effect of this? How does Aldiss create conflict between the macro and micro narratives (conflict between the lives of the characters and the world that they live in)?
What are the conflicts in the narrative?
How are the key characters represented? What language devices are used to depict the characters in particular ways?
Evaluate the narrative perspective and voice. How does the narrator feel for the characters? For whom is empathy developed?
What are Aldiss’ key ideas and how do they reflect his late 1960s context?

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