a16z Podcast: Knowledge Builds Technology and Technology Builds Knowledge -- with Joel Mokyr
a16z Podcast27 Nov 2016

a16z Podcast: Knowledge Builds Technology and Technology Builds Knowledge -- with Joel Mokyr

The Industrial Revolution (and period between 1500-1700) was an unprecedented age of technology and economic progress — not unlike today’s, in fact — where we took “quantum leaps” forward in tech by taming electricity, making cheaper steel and refining iron cheaply, automating fiber looms, pumping water out of coal mines, figuring out how to measure longitude at sea, improving the quality of food, preventing smallpox, … even bleaching underwear.

But what really triggered the Industrial Revolution? Why did it take place in Europe and spread beyond? It has to do with a competitive, open market of ideas — a transnational “Republic of Letters”, not unlike the early days of the blogosphere. And the conditions that created it (virtual networks, open access science, weak ties, and so on) are the very conditions we may need to sustain growth and prosperity even today, argues Joel Mokyr, professor of economics and history at Northwestern and author of the new book A Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy.

Despite fears of what new tech may bring, the alternative to not innovating is stagnation — “not doing it is worse”, argues Mokyr in this episode of the a16z Podcast. So how do we then measure that growth? How does this all play out internationally, and institutionally? And what happens when we bring shared focus to big problems, like climate change? If there’s one pattern that continues to play out throughout history to today, it’s that “Knowledge builds technology and technology builds knowledge.”

image: Library of Congress

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a16z Podcast: Searching for Mobile’s Own PageRank

a16z Podcast: Searching for Mobile’s Own PageRank

The mobile experience is still in its 1995 Yahoo phase, a sea of apps and websites without an easy way to find what you want and need on your smartphone. What will be mobile’s version of PageRank, the algorithm that made the web manageable? What is the interaction model and the form - app, card, URL – that will help us find, explore and engage with people, products and services from our mobile devices? Andreessen Horowitz’s Chris Dixon, Benedict Evans and Balaji Srinivasan delve into the options.

24 Mars 201412min

a16z Podcast: Where is the Technology That "Matters?" Right Here

a16z Podcast: Where is the Technology That "Matters?" Right Here

There is a recurring theme that the tech industry is busy cranking out fluffy social apps rather than hardcore technology. Not the case, say Chris Dixon, Benedict Evans and Balaji Srinivasan. Not only are tech entrepreneurs going after the deficiencies in healthcare, transportation, finance, energy - you name it - with new approaches riding on top of sophisticated technologies, what looks like fluff today often wields some serious influence tomorrow.

21 Mars 201414min

a16z Podcast: The State of the Bitcoin Ecosystem, and a Theory on Satoshi

a16z Podcast: The State of the Bitcoin Ecosystem, and a Theory on Satoshi

Andreessen Horowitz's Chris Dixon and Balaji Srinivasan discuss the state of the Bitcoin ecosystem now that the Mt. Gox dust has settled. What's next in crypto-currency, and a theory on Bitcoin creator Satoshi (not Dorian) Nakamoto.

20 Mars 201415min

a16z Podcast: Apple and Google Won the Mobile OS War, But a New War Has Already Begun

a16z Podcast: Apple and Google Won the Mobile OS War, But a New War Has Already Begun

Apple and Google won the mobile OS war, but the next war – to build big businesses on top of Android and iOS – is just beginning. Andreessen Horowitz Partner Benedict Evans untangles what the next phase of mobile means for entrepreneurs, Apple and Google's competitors, and consumers eager for the next great gadget.

13 Mars 201427min

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