My colleague and friend Chris Hill (not the diplomat) has a new piece here. In it he posits the demise of an innovation society based primarily on science and technology. I think Chris is dead wrong, but it’s an interesting challenge for those of us who come from the Vannevar Bush tradition.
Just as the post-industrial society continues to require the products of agriculture and manufacturing for its effective functioning, so too will the post-scientific society continue to require the results of advanced scientific and engineering research. Nevertheless, the leading edge of innovation in the post-scientific society, whether for business, industrial, consumer, or public purposes, will move from the workshop, the laboratory, and the office to the studio, the think tank, the atelier, and cyberspace.
Discoverers and Discoveries 