Inventing modern invention: the professionalization of technological progress in the US
As invention in the US shifted from craftsmanship to a science-based activity in the early 20th century, profound changes happened in the production of knowledge. Using historical records on the universe of inventors, and research laboratories, matched to decennial census records between 1850 and 1940, we find that as inventions start becoming more complex (combining more technologies) and innovative (using increasingly newer technologies), they reflect qualitative shifts in how individuals, teams and geography produce knowledge that persist until today.
Date: 1 March 2023, 14:30
Venue: Manor Road Building, Manor Road OX1 3UQ
Venue Details: Seminar Room G and online via Zoom
Speaker: Frank Neffke (Complexity Science Hub Vienna)
Organising department: Institute for New Economic Thinking
Organisers: Dorothy Nicholas (INET Oxford), Francois Lafond (INET Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: complexity@inet.ox.ac.uk
Host: Prof. Doyne Farmer
Part of: INET Complexity Economics Seminars
Booking required?: Required
Booking url: https://www.inet.ox.ac.uk/events/inventing-modern-invention/
Audience: Members of the University only
Editors: Susan Mousley, Dorothy Nicholas