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Did Thomas Edison invent the light bulb? According to Matt Ridley, many others can lay claim to this breakthrough moment – it was bound to emerge sooner or later. Ridley contends that innovation is the most important unsolved problem in all of human society, and is too little understood and valued.
Matt Ridley, with a commentary by Dr Stephen Davies
Almost every schoolchild learns that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. But did he? And if he hadn’t invented it, would we be still living in the dark?
Acclaimed author Matt Ridley (The Rational Optimist, The Evolution of Everything) explains that at least 20 other people can lay claim to this breakthrough moment. Ridley argues that the light bulb emerged from the combined technologies and accumulated knowledge of the day – it was bound to emerge sooner or later. Based on his 2018 Hayek Memorial Lecture, Ridley contends that innovation – from invention through to development and commercialisation – is the most important unsolved problem in all of human society. We rely on it – but we do not fully understand it, we cannot predict
it and we cannot direct it. In How Many Light Bulbs Does it Take to Change the World? Ridley examines the nature of innovation – and how people often fear its consequences.
He dispels the myth that automation destroys jobs – and demonstrates how innovation leads to economic growth. And he argues that intellectual property rights, originally intended to encourage innovation, are now being used by big business to defend their monopolies. Ridley concludes that innovation is a mysterious and under-appreciated process that we discuss too rarely, hamper too much and value too little.
The gap between important real-word problems and the workhorse mathematical model-based economics being taught to students has become a chasm. This book examines what economists need to bring to their jobs, and the way in which economics education in universities could be improved to fit them better for the real world.
Why did Britain’s cities, once the engines of the industrial revolution, decline so severely? What needs to be done if our cities are once again to be the drivers of our economy? This book answers these questions, looking at the lessons of the last two hundred years.
If climate action remains marginal at this late hour, it will fail. In dismay at the inaction of governments, citizen groups are showing how people can use their real power and authentic voice to drive change. In the workplace, in politics and in local communities, people are stepping forward both to demand transformation and to make it happen.
A guide for students of history – why study it, how to study it, where to study it, what it can do for your future worklife, for your personal development, and for the public good. The book busts a lot of myths, offering practical advice based on an unparalleled understanding of how history is actually taught in schools and universities.
