ABSTRACT
In order to contextualize the theory and philosophy underlying Machine-Age mechanical television, Chapter Four explores the genesis of illuminating engineering in the early 20th century, its role in the efficiency movement, and the consequences it entails for the conception of the average viewer. Illuminating engineers adopted the Machine-Age philosophy of efficiency, struggling with standards and definitions that would establish a foundation for thinking about how the human, sometimes called a ‘human seeing-machine’, would adapt to life under electric light. Illuminating engineers constructed an image of the average observer, which served as the standard on which all models for interior electric lighting and television were measured. A pervasive attitude of control and efficiency governed and guided the further development of television technology.
