Sunday, February 17, 2019

Burke's Law of Technology Assessment




Writer James Burke has studied how technologies gain traction. His bellwether 1978 TV show (and book), "Connections," takes one on a fantastic voyage that connects such diverse events as the birth of the Jacquard loom and the computer punch card. Here are some of Burke's rules of innovation.

  • Innovation occurs as the result of deliberate attempts to develop it.
  • The attempt to find one thing leads to the discovery of another.
  • Unrelated developments have a decisive effect on the main event
  • Motives, such as war and religion, may also act as major stimulant to innovation.
  • Accident and unforeseen circumstances play a role innovation
  • Physical and climate conditions play their part. [To that we add economic conditions.]


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