Originally growing out of six lectures Franklin delivered as part of the Massey Lecture series in 1989, it represents the distillation of a lifetime's experiences of, and reflections upon, the impact of
technology on human society. While the content of the original
work was not altered for the revised edition, Franklin adds four new chapters covering technological developments that have occurred in the intervening decade. However, the fundamental thesis of her work remains the same. Franklin argues that technology is more than simply wheels and machines, hardware and software. It is rather the totality of the convergences between machine and man, and the social changes this interaction fosters.