Inventions and Innovations: A Brief History of Infatuation, Overpromise, and Disappointment
- Downloads：9336
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-01-19 16:21:34
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Vaclav Smil
- ISBN：0262048051
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Rick Burcik
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I have read some of， but not all， Vaclav Smil's wonderful books， and this one is also well worth your time， but it is a little more detailed than I would have preferred。 For example， I didn't need to know the tail numbers for all of the German Zeppelins That said， you should invest the time to read "Invention and Innovation。" Btw， Dr。 Smil and I were likely both students at Penn State in the late 1960s， and while we never met I may have taken one of my father's courses。 I have read some of， but not all， Vaclav Smil's wonderful books， and this one is also well worth your time， but it is a little more detailed than I would have preferred。 For example， I didn't need to know the tail numbers for all of the German Zeppelins That said， you should invest the time to read "Invention and Innovation。" Btw， Dr。 Smil and I were likely both students at Penn State in the late 1960s， and while we never met I may have taken one of my father's courses。 。。。more
Kara
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Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy。A somewhat dense academic look at how we humans have created more problems than we have solved with all lot of current technologies。
Pablo
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A short， sobering book about some of the more egregiously overhyped innovations of the last century， how they got that way， and their outcomes。 I'm an innovation cheerleader so it was hard to swallow， but yes， it's accurate。 Smil covers leaded gasoline， DDT， and supersonic transport as three examples typifying the 20th century， then touches on current topics like controlled fusion， AI， cancer research， and carbon reduction。 It's all very factual and is a good eye-opener for people who blindly su A short， sobering book about some of the more egregiously overhyped innovations of the last century， how they got that way， and their outcomes。 I'm an innovation cheerleader so it was hard to swallow， but yes， it's accurate。 Smil covers leaded gasoline， DDT， and supersonic transport as three examples typifying the 20th century， then touches on current topics like controlled fusion， AI， cancer research， and carbon reduction。 It's all very factual and is a good eye-opener for people who blindly support innovation at all cost （or just expect it）。What Smil doesn't offer is advice on when to take on high-risk， high payoff ventures like these。 Certainly there's value in pursuing big advances for the knowledge gained， for the possiblity of success or spinoffs， or just for their own sake。 Near the end he suggests that resources should be redirected to improving the quality of life everywhere in the world， which means redirecting resources to places where populations are growing the fastest。 Surely that's as pie-in-the-sky as any technological topic in the book， and seems to encourage that kind of growth while discouraging support of high-tech R&D with very longterm payoffs， the kind of work that can only be undertaken in the affluent， population-stable countries。The book portrays the media as the bad guys， with governments and research institutions as overly optimistic， misguided， or poor decision-makers。 Fair enough， but again， no solutions are offered。 How do we course-correct， if we can at all？ Do we vote differently， do we pursue different careers or change our daily habits - what will it take to fix the problems identified here？ Pointing them out is only half the battle。I really enjoyed teh book， challenging as it was to hear all the negativity about things that excite me。 I will be looking into other Smil titles next。 。。。more
Steve
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I appreciated this book based on the information it provided and its thoughtful and pragmatic approach。 I also liked the discussions of how the media distorts information related to science and technology。 There was also some sarcasm which helped lighten the mood。 But I found the writing style abrupt， with what appeared to be the author’s well-placed anger showing through。 Some of the discussions were complex， with not enough background given。 Thank you to Netgalley and MIT Press for the advance I appreciated this book based on the information it provided and its thoughtful and pragmatic approach。 I also liked the discussions of how the media distorts information related to science and technology。 There was also some sarcasm which helped lighten the mood。 But I found the writing style abrupt， with what appeared to be the author’s well-placed anger showing through。 Some of the discussions were complex， with not enough background given。 Thank you to Netgalley and MIT Press for the advance reader copy。 。。。more
Adelyn
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