Steven Johnson: Future Perfect: The Case For Progress In A Networked Age

Steven Johnson is an American popular science author and media theorist. From “A Review of "Future Perfect: The Case for Progress in a Networked Age" Christopher Wanamaker July 21, 2022 “Steven Johnson makes a strong case for improving technological innovation by essentially replacing the traditional inefficient system of patents with a system of awarding prizes to inventors that solve problems while also making the solution available to the public for immediate use. Evidence is given to support the prize-giving model of stimulating innovation, and the author even provides a historical look at how the Royal Society of London used this technique to make innovation possible. Regarding innovation, Johnson shows that a good idea can come from anyone (or, using the network terminology, any node) and that the traditional patent system impedes innovation because it is centralized and highly inefficient.”