All posts filed under: knowledge

Patents and the invention of the telescope

August 25, 2019
by Nikodem Tomczak
Leave a comment
history / knowledge / optics

There is an ongoing discussion whether patents encourage or hinder innovation. Patents grant a temporary monopoly as an incentive for the inventor to commercialize the inventions and come up with follow-up innovations. However, many companies file patent applications to block competition even though the companies owning the patent do not intend to commercialize the invention. It is tempting to speculate what would have happened to many technologies were they patented or not. Although we can’t […]

Decentralized innovation: data analytics and access to differentiated knowledge

August 25, 2019
by Nikodem Tomczak
Leave a comment
articles / economics / knowledge

Innovation is not a fixed-rate process and can be influenced by our ability to exploit the existing stock of knowledge, especially if that knowledge translates into broader distributions of available product complexity. However, before we build products we need to assess existing knowledge. If we are lucky enough to have already the right data we can use data analytics for that purpose. Modern tools for data mining, management, retrieval and processing allow for fairly complex, […]

On Logic and the Theory of Science

August 11, 2019
by Nikodem Tomczak
Leave a comment
Books / knowledge / philiosophy

On Logic and the Theory of Science by Jean Cavaillès, translated by Knox Peden, MIT Press (2019) (…) Jean Cavaillès evaluates philosophical efforts to determine the origin—logical or ontological—of scientific thought, arguing that, rather than seeking to found science in original intentional acts, a priori meanings, or foundational logical relations, any adequate theory must involve a history of the concept. Cavaillès insists on a historical epistemology that is conceptual rather than phenomenological, and a logic […]

Knowledge, innovation, economic growth

August 7, 2019
by Nikodem Tomczak
comment 1
articles / economics / knowledge

On a macro level, knowledge creation relates to innovation and how it influences economic growth. Knowledge creation, however, originates at the micro level. Microeconomic evidence for knowledge creation and innovation at the level of individual inventors is however lacking. One interesting question is whether, and how, collaborations between individual scientists benefit knowledge creation. Such studies are important as they can inform policies. In context of innovation and economic growth, fostering collaborations and promoting collaborative spirit […]