Invention and Innovation
A Brief History of Hype and Failure
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Invention and Innovation
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Narrated by:
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Tim Fannon
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By:
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Vaclav Smil
About this listen
From the New York Times-bestselling author, a new volume on the history of human ingenuity—and its attendant breakthroughs and busts.
The world is never finished catching up with Vaclav Smil. In his latest and perhaps most digestible book, Invention and Innovation, the prolific author—a favorite of Bill Gates—pens 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. He then looks at three different types of inventions.
Inventions that failed to dominate as promised:
Airships
Nuclear fission
Supersonic flight
Inventions that turned disastrous:
Leaded gasoline
DDT
Chlorofluorocarbons
Inventions we have long been promised (and that would be highly beneficial):
Travel in vacuum (hyperloop)
Nitrogen-fixing cereals
Nuclear fusion
Finally, he offers a “wish list” 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 ingenuity—and how we can, and must, better align our expectations with reality.
©2023 Vaclav Smil (P)2023 Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Invention and Innovation
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alex
- 23-07-23
Much-needed cold water on hype
In this book, Smil discusses a variety of inventions: ones that were supposed to change everything, but didn't, ones that came to be regretted (at least by those with power), and those that never came to be.
Nuclear fission, DDT and nuclear fusion are examples of these. His takes are surprisingly balanced, at least that is my impression as a layman. For example, he criticizes Rachel Carson and others for vastly overstating the dangers of DDT, particularly to humans, while also recognizing that it did have some pretty severe detrimental effects. His ultimate conclusion is that while it does have its uses, it should not be overused.
The main argument, like in some of his other books, is that there is more continuity than change. He therefore argues against thinkers, or alleged thinkers, who claim that technology is going to completely change on earth or lead to some sort of utopia.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- abdul
- 19-07-23
Very good story with great narrator performance
Very thorough analysis of failed selected major innovations of recent past. I like the way the author approaches the topics from many angles with solid accounting from historical and scientific references in the first chapters. I must admit that I expected a deeper discussion in Chapter 5. Even though his message about the techno-optimism is clear, a deeper analysis would be great over the few contemporary examples covered. I also liked the author's clear views about the humanistic factors of invention and innovation need for future. The narrator's performance is great. His tone, rhythm and emphasis skills made it easier to follow the content. Overall it is a very good piece of work and recommended.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 18-07-23
Rare but tiresome look at innovation failure
You don’t find many books that digs hard into the realities of much of the innovation hype we see every day - this books does, but in a way that will make you fall asleep quite quickly. It goes into the topic, case by case, never really hitting on any true insights on why and innovation fails in general. If you’re looking for in depth cases or need a reminder of how hard innovation is - this is the book for you. If you’re looking for more applicable insights for how to avoid innovation failure, then go somewhere else.
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