Abstract

Why did innovation accelerate in Britain in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, in turn leading to the Industrial Revolution? In this talk, Anton Howes explores the key findings from a database of the individuals responsible - the men and women who did the inventing. His evidence suggests that people become innovators because they adopt an improving mentality, which spreads from person to person. And that Britain's acceleration was caused by its innovators becoming especially committed to spreading it further.

Reference

Anton Howes (King's College London), “The Age of Invention and its Causes”, IAST General Seminar, Toulouse: IAST, October 22, 2021, 11:30–12:30, room Zoom.