The Nature of Technology: What It Is and How It Evolves

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Explores the extraordinary way in which the technology that surrounds us and allows us to live our modern lives has actually been developed. With examples, from laser printers to powerplants, the author reveals how our own problem-solving skills and creative vision can evolve alongside these technologies. About The Author W. Brian Arthur is an External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute and a Visiting Researcher at PARC (Palo Alto Research Centre). Formerly he was Morrison Professor of Economics and Population Studies at Stanford University. One of the pioneers of complexity theory, he also formulated the influential “theory of increasing returns.” which offered a paradigm-changing explanation of why some high-tech companies achieve breakaway success. Former director of PARC John Seeley Brown has said of him, “Hundreds of millions of dollars slosh around Silicon Valley every day based on Arthur's ideas.” Arthur is the recipient of the International Schumpeter Prize in Economics and the inaugural Lagrange Prize in Complexity Science. He lives in Palo Alto, California. Table of Contents Preface Questions Combinations and Structure Phenomena Domains, or Worlds Entered for What Can Be Accomplished Three Engineering and its Solutions The Original of Technologies Structural Deepening Revolutions and Redomainings The Mechanisms of Evolution The Economy Evolving as Its Technologies Evolve Where Do We Stand with This Creation of Ours? Notes Bibliography Acknowledgments Index