{"product_id":"invention-and-innovation-hardcover-by-vaclav-smil","title":"Invention and Innovation Hardcover by Vaclav Smil","description":"\u003cbody\u003e\n                    \n                        \n                            \u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n                            \u003cul\u003e\n                                \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cb\u003eThe MIT Press\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003e(2023-02-14)\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                                \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLanguage\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003eEnglish\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                                \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003e232\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cb\u003epages\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                                \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eISBN-13\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003e9780262048057\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                                \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eItem Weight\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003e498.96\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cb\u003egrams\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                                \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003e9.31 x 6.31 x 0.89\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cb\u003ecm\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                            \u003c\/ul\u003e\n                            \u003cbr\u003e\n                            \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e-bestselling author, a new volume on the history of human ingenuity—and its attendant breakthroughs and busts.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe world is never finished catching up with Vaclav Smil. In his latest and perhaps most readable book, \u003ci\u003eInvention and Innovation\u003c\/i\u003e, the prolific author—a favorite of Bill Gates—pens an insightful and fact-filled jaunt through the history of human invention. Impatient with the hype that so often accompanies innovation, Smil offers in this book a clear-eyed corrective to the overpromises that accompany everything from new cures for diseases to AI. He reminds us that even after we go quite far along the invention-development-application trajectory, we may never get anything real to deploy. Or worse, even after we have succeeded by introducing an invention, its future may be marked by underperformance, disappointment, demise, or outright harm.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDrawing on his vast breadth of scientific and historical knowledge, Smil explains the difference between invention and innovation. He then looks at three different types of inventions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInventions that failed to dominate as promised:\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAirships\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNuclear fission\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSupersonic flight\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003eInventions that turned disastrous:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLeaded gasoline \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDDT\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChlorofluorocarbons\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003eInventions we have long been promised (and that would be highly beneficial):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTravel in vacuum (hyperloop)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNitrogen-fixing cereals\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNuclear fusion\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003eFinally, he offers a “wish list” of inventions that we most urgently need to confront the staggering challenges of the twenty-first century.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFilled with engaging examples and pragmatic approaches, this book is a sobering account of the folly that so often attends human ingenuity—and how we can, and must, better align our expectations with reality.\n                            \u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n                            \u003cp\u003eVaclav Smil is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba. He is the author of forty books, including \u003ci\u003eEnergy and Civilization\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eGrowth\u003c\/i\u003e, published by the MIT Press. In 2010 he was named by \u003ci\u003eForeign Policy\u003c\/i\u003e as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers. In 2013 Bill Gates wrote on his website that “there is no author whose books I look forward to more than Vaclav Smil.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n                        \n                    \n                    \u003c\/body\u003e","brand":"Best Bookstore","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":43150433910945,"sku":"BBSNIJ9780262048057","price":32.25,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/2084\/5473\/products\/9780262048057.jpg?v=1691982163","url":"https:\/\/www.bestbookstore.ca\/products\/invention-and-innovation-hardcover-by-vaclav-smil","provider":"Best Book Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}