The Inspection HouseIn 1787, British philosopher and social reformer Jeremy Bentham conceived of the panopticon, a ring of cells observed by a central watchtower, as a labour saving device for those in authority. While Bentham's design was ostensibly for a prison, he believed that any number of places that require supervisionfactories, poorhouses, hospitals, and schoolswould benefit from such a design. The French philosopher Michel Foucault took Bentham at his word. In