Invention and innovation : a brief history of hype and failure

Smil, Vaclav, author.

Book 2023

"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.

Item Details & Discovery

Explore Topics & Themes:

Errors History

Inventions Defects History Popular works

New products History

System failures (Engineering) History

Technological forecasting

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ISBN:

9780262048057

Description:

219 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Notes:

Canadiana
Includes bibliographical references and index

Contents:

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

LCCN:

2022019899

Control Number:

3229347

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