As Far as the Eye Can See: A History of Seeing

From the mastery of fire a million years ago, humans repeatedly invented new ways to see their surroundings, each other and themselves. Artificial light, early art, mirrors, writing, lenses, printing, photography, film, television, the smart phone. These tools shaped Western culture and made us who we are. As Far as the Eye Can See traces the history of seeing from the first evolutionary stirrings of sight to the present. It reveals that each time we invented technologies that changed how or what we see, we changed ourselves, and the world around us. Visual technologies propelled the human journey from walking apes to masters of nature to self-obsessed screen junkies. Having come this far, the author asks, are we now at peak seeing? Can our eyes—and the rest of us—keep up with technology’s relentless march? Have we gone as far as the eye can see? Told in five parts, Becoming, Transforming, Observing, Showing and Curating, this book shows how each revolution in seeing has determined who we have become—and how we might change in the future.