Three rules for technological fixes

Sarewitz, Daniel; Nelson, Richard R.

doi:10.1038/456871a

Cited by 96 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Should this transition prove difficult, however, air capture could be an alternative that can also reduce the atmospheric CO 2 concentration. In addition, air capture may provide a new policy route for facilitating an international agreement on climate mitigation (12,13). As Weitzman (14) and others have convincingly argued, there are significant uncertainties regarding the costs and benefits associated with climate change as well as with climate change mitigation.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The urgency of the development of CO ₂ capture from ambient air

Lackner

Brennan

Matter

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

375

253

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CO 2 capture and storage (CCS) has the potential to develop into an important tool to address climate change. Given society’s present reliance on fossil fuels, widespread adoption of CCS appears indispensable for meeting stringent climate targets. We argue that for conventional CCS to become a successful climate mitigation technology—which by necessity has to operate on a large scale—it may need to be complemented with air capture, removing CO 2 directly from the atmosphere. Air capture of CO 2 could act as insurance against CO 2 leaking from storage and furthermore may provide an option for dealing with emissions from mobile dispersed sources such as automobiles and airplanes.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

The urgency of the development of CO ₂ capture from ambient air

Lackner

Brennan

Matter

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

375

253

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This one-dimensional thinking is dangerous because it can lead to waste of money, resources and technological pseudo-or short-term solutions. Some problems like disease prevention can be solved with technological fixes such as vaccinations, whereas other problems like increasing the reading ability or climate change do not lend themselves easily to a straightforward technological solution (Sarewitz and Nelson 2008). The inability to consider non-technological solutions is the analogue to the individual rigidity of a person stuck in his or her habits and ways of thinking, not flexible enough to consider other points of view.…”

Section: Bergson and Philosophy Of Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Technology is a laughing matter: Bergson, the comic and technology

Steinert

2015

AI & Soc

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There seems to be no connection between philosophy of humor and the philosophy of technology. In this paper, I want to make the case that there is. I will pursue a twofold goal in this paper: First, I will take an account from one of the seminal figures in the philosophy of humor, Henri Bergson, and bring out its merits for a philosophy of technology. Bergson has never been fully appreciated as a philosopher of technology. I will fill this gap and show that Bergson's account of the comic contains some interesting insights about our relation to technology. Second, I will show that humor and the comic open up a new perspective on technology that may facilitate new ways of thinking about our technological culture.

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“…As such, safety and efficacy concerns overlap and interact throughout development. Many innovation processes now involve testing not only to trial the feasibility of inventions before going into fullscale operation but also to actively develop their products "off-line" (Nelson, 2008;Sarewitz and Nelson, 2008). Though in medical innovation, the scope for improvements through actual practice is often severely constrained, so off-line development (in animal models and in humans under highly controlled conditions) serves first and foremost as a way to vicariously explore the safety of putative operational principles.…”

Section: Testing Regimes and Their Effects On Innovationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in the dynamics and performance of industrial innovation: what can we learn from vaccines and HIV vaccines?

Yaqub

2017

Industrial and Corporate Change

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This article examines contingencies and constraints in problem-solving processes underlying technological change and industry evolution. It shows how learning through practice can help drive technical change but, when this is impeded, the ability to make use of models and engage in experimental learning becomes even more pertinent for explaining variation in the rate and direction of technical change. The article explores HIV as an example of vaccine innovation, and vaccines as an example of medical innovation. I find the absence of these two variables (ability to learn directly in humans, and ability to learn vicariously through animal models) not only make up a large part of how I would characterize "difficulty" in the HIV R&D process, but they also seem to go a long way toward explaining why 33 other diseases have-or have not-had vaccines developed for them. Implications for theory and policy are discussed.JEL classification: O31, O32, O33, O38, D81, D83, I18.

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Three rules for technological fixes

Abstract: Not all problems will yield to technology. Deciding which will and which won't should be central to setting innovation policy, say Daniel Sarewitz and Richard Nelson.

Cited by 96 publications

References 7 publications

The urgency of the development of CO ₂ capture from ambient air

The urgency of the development of CO ₂ capture from ambient air

Technology is a laughing matter: Bergson, the comic and technology

Variation in the dynamics and performance of industrial innovation: what can we learn from vaccines and HIV vaccines?

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Three rules for technological fixes

Abstract: Not all problems will yield to technology. Deciding which will and which won't should be central to setting innovation policy, say Daniel Sarewitz and Richard Nelson.

Cited by 96 publications

References 7 publications

The urgency of the development of CO 2 capture from ambient air

The urgency of the development of CO 2 capture from ambient air

Technology is a laughing matter: Bergson, the comic and technology

Variation in the dynamics and performance of industrial innovation: what can we learn from vaccines and HIV vaccines?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

The urgency of the development of CO ₂ capture from ambient air

The urgency of the development of CO ₂ capture from ambient air