10 years, 4 months ago

Why the end of innovation is difficult to imagine

Could the innovation that has helped drive human prosperity for centuries finally be petering out? The idea seems counterintuitive given the frantic pace of innovation in Silicon Valley, or the steady flow of discoveries in science. After 1870, the focus of innovation shifted toward finding new ways to combine previous discoveries. The incandescent light bulb, for example, required technologies for generating electricity as well as for making very thin wires and delicate glass bulbs containing inert gases. Are there technologically enhanced forms of democracy—or other kinds of government we’ve never dreamed of—that would be less prone to the distortions of powerful special interests?

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