Has the ideas machine broken down?

The idea that innovation and new technology have stopped driving growth is getting increasing attention. A recent article published in Economist navigates the blurry territory of innovation and the pace of technological change. The article entitled "Has the Ideas Machine Broken Down?" talks about innovation pessimism and explains how innovation has stagnated.

The article quotes Peter Thiel, a founder of PayPal, an internet payment company, and the first outside investor in Facebook, a social network, says that innovation in America is “somewhere between dire straits and dead”. Engineers in all sorts of areas share similar feelings of disappointment. And a small but growing group of economists reckon the economic impact of the innovations of today may pale in comparison with those of the past.

"The idea that innovation and new technology have stopped driving growth is getting increasing attention. But it is not well founded." This article is an interesting take on innovation in the modern world - we haven't invented flying cars yet, but we have faster computers, tablets and cellphones. What does this mean for the future?

This modern age is great at producing incrementally jazzier gadgets. But we've lost the vision, the appetite for fundamental technological progress. Revolutions in transport, health science, even kitchen gadgetry all took place before 1970.

Here is the link to full article