by Vaclav Smil
First published 2023
Vaclav Smil takes on the oversized promises that surround modern innovation. The New York Times bestselling author and Bill Gates favorite cuts through technological hype with scientific rigor and historical perspective. Smil distinguishes between mere invention and true innovation, then examines three categories of human ingenuity. He explores inventions that failed to dominate as predicted, those that turned catastrophic, and breakthrough technologies we've been promised for decades but still lack. The author draws from his extensive scientific and historical expertise to show how even promising inventions can stumble along the development path, never reaching practical deployment. Others succeed initially but later underperform, disappoint, or cause outright damage. Smil concludes with his wish list of inventions urgently needed to tackle twenty first century challenges. This clear eyed analysis offers readers pragmatic thinking about technological progress and tools to align expectations with reality.
Genres: science, non-fiction, technology, 21st-century, academic, history-of-science
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: pragmatic-thinking
232 pages · Hardcover · The MIT Press