Jonathan Coopersmith, Professor of History
Texas A&M University

"Creative Construction: The Integral Importance of Froth, Fraud and Fear in Emerging Technologies"

Emerging technologies often experience a turbulent boom-bust cycle. Analyzing this cycle with technologies ranging from the bicycle in the 1890s to blockchain in the 2010s creates a fuller portrayal of the failure-filled process of turning inventions into successful products and diffusing those technologies commercially. Three key areas are the challenges of financing, the roles of the state, and the evolution of an ecosystem of experts, analysts, promoters, and others who play critical roles in shaping the expectations about new technologies

Co-sponsored by

Drexel Department of History

Consortium for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine

Penn Department of History and Sociology of Science