Book
Invention and innovation : a brief history of hype and failure / Vaclav Smil.
"Smil presents the long history and modern infatuation with invention and innovation. Meticulous as always, these vast realms of human ingenuity are organized into sensible categories: inventions that went from welcome to undesirable, inventions that dominate and missed the mark, inventions we still dream about, and lastly, the exaggerations, myths, and wise expectations for innovations we need most"-- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780262048057 (hardcover)
- Physical Description: 219 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
- Publisher: Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press, [2023]
- Copyright: ©2023
Content descriptions
| Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Formatted Contents Note: | Invention and innovation : a long history and modern infatuation -- Inventions that turned from welcome to undesirable. Leaded gasoline ; DDT ; Chlorofluorocarbons -- Inventions that were to dominate-and do not. Airships ; Nuclear fission ; Supersonic flight -- Inventions that we keep waiting for. Travel in a (near) vacuum (hyperloop) ; Nitrogen-fixing cereals ; Nuclear fusion -- Techno-optimism, exaggerations, and realistic expectations. Breakthroughs that are not ; The myth of ever-faster innovations ; What we need most. |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Errors > History. Inventions > Defects > History > Popular works. New products > History. System failures (Engineering) > History. Technological forecasting. |
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at Tsuga Consortium.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stroud Branch | 600 Smi | 31681010309649 | NONFIC | Available | - |
- Baker & Taylor
"Smil presents the long history and modern infatuation with invention and innovation. Meticulous as always, these vast realms of human ingenuity are organized into sensible categories: inventions that went from welcome to undesirable, inventions that dominate and missed the mark, inventions we still dream about, and lastly, the exaggerations, myths, and wise expectations for innovations we need most"-- - Random House, Inc.
Tour the history of human inventionâand its attendant breakthroughs and bustsâin this history book from the New York Times-bestselling author of How the World Really Works.
A BILL GATES RECOMMENDED BOOK: âEvery Smil book that I own is marked up with lots of notes that I take while reading. Invention and Innovation is no exception.â
The world is never finished catching up with Vaclav Smil, author of New York Times bestsellers How the World Really Works and Energy and Civilization. In Invention and Innovation, the prolific authorâa favorite of Bill Gatesâpens an insightful and fact-filled jaunt through the history of human invention. Impatient with the hype that so often accompanies innovation, Smil offers in this book a clear-eyed corrective to the overpromises that accompany everything from new cures for diseases to AI. He reminds us that even after we go quite far along the invention-development-application trajectory, we may never get anything real to deploy. Or worse, even after we have succeeded by introducing an invention, its future may be marked by underperformance, disappointment, demise, or outright harm.
Drawing on his vast breadth of scientific and historical knowledge, Smil explains the difference between invention and innovation, and looks not only at inventions that failed to dominate as promised (such as the airship, nuclear fission, and supersonic flight), but also at those that turned disastrous (leaded gasoline, DDT, and chlorofluorocarbons). And finally, most importantly, he offers a âwish listâ of inventions that we most urgently need to confront the staggering challenges of the twenty-first century.
Filled with engaging examples and pragmatic approaches, this book is a sobering account of the folly that so often attends human ingenuityâand how we can, and must, better align our expectations with reality.
