The nature of technology
by W. Brian Arthur · first published 2009
100% recommend
The Nature of Technology will change the way you think about this fundamental subject forever. W. Brian Arthur's many years of thinking and writing about technology have culminated in a unique understanding of his subject. Here he examines the nature of technology itself: what is it and how does it evolve? Giving rare insights into the evolution of specific technologies and a new framework for thinking about others, every sentence points to some further truth and fascination. At a time when we are ever more reliant on technological solutions for the world's problems, it is extraordinary how li
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What constitutes a novel invention is a matter of open dispute. I strongly recommend W. Brian Arthur's The Nature of Technology, which addresses this, and other questions on, well, the nature of technology.
on “Ray Tomlinson, Inventor of Email, Has Died” ↗…biography has been written by Simon Winchester, and is highly recommended. There are numerous books on innovation I recommend. There's What Technology Wants by Kevin Kelley and W. Brian Arthur's The Nature of Technology both cover inventions and inventing. Robert Gordon's The Rise and Fall of American Growth (2016) looks at the era of invention and development since 1870. Gordon writes in great detail, but very readably,…
on “How old were the inventors of major inventions?” ↗The innovator's dilemma Systemantics A farewell to entropy The nature of technology - what it is and how it evolves On being wrong
on “Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?” ↗1. The Imagineers of War by Sharon Weinberger 2. The Nature of Technology by Brian Arthur 3. (Not a book but documentary) Connections by James Burk 4. Books by James Burk [0] [0]: https://www.thriftbooks.com/a/james--burke/215445/
on “Ask HN: Good Books on the History of Technology?” ↗…Books; - Technics & Civilization - The Culture of Cities - The Story of Utopias Lewis Mumford talks about technology, but from an anthropological pint of view. Another book I would recommend is The Nature of Technology by Brian Arthur The other I would recommend is James Burk's Connections he's has some books but I but the documentary is highly recommended.
on “Ask HN: Good books on philosophy of engineering?” ↗The Nature of Technology is a book by complexity theorist, Brian Arthur. In the book, Brian Arthur describes technology and how it evolves. You might find the book interesting if; a) You want to develop a few frameworks that…
on “"The Nature of Technology" – Book review” ↗W Brian Arthur's book "The Nature of Technology" provides a framework for classifying new technology as elemental vs innovative that I find helpful. For example the Huntley-Mcllroy diff operates on the phenomenon that ordered correspondence survives…
on “Yann LeCun's AI startup raises $1B in Europe's largest ever seed round” ↗…classification of causes, while arts must necessarily be classified according to the classification of the effects", from Essays on some unsettled Questions of Political Economy.[1] There's some discussion of the nature of technology, W. Brian Arthur, The Nature of Technology , and Kevin Kelley's What Technology Wants, as well as several titles by Steven Johnson. The contribution of philosophy to the question is generally unsatisfying,…
on “Tech Progress Is Slowing Down” ↗