Invention and innovation : a brief history of hype and failure

Summary: "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"--

Record details

ISBN: 9780262048057 (hardcover)
Physical Description: print
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.