The Lever of Riches

Beginning with a fascinating, concise history of technological progress, Mokyr traces major inventions and innovations that have transformed society since ancient Greece and Rome. What were the causes of technological creativity? Mokyr distinguishes between the relationship of inventors and their physical environment--which determined their willingness to challenge nature--and the social environment, which determined the openness to new ideas. He details a long list of such factors,...
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Beginning with a fascinating, concise history of technological progress, Mokyr traces major inventions and innovations that have transformed society since ancient Greece and Rome. What were the causes of technological creativity? Mokyr distinguishes between the relationship of inventors and their physical environment--which determined their willingness to challenge nature--and the social environment, which determined the openness to new ideas. He details a long list of such factors, showing how they interact to help or hinder a nation's creativity, and then illustrates them by a number of detailed studies taken from the history of Europe and China.