How We Got To Now by Steven Johnson

These are my notes from How We Got To Now by Steven Johnson. Each one contains a core idea from the book that stood out. The goal of writing my notes this way is that each could be it's own independent idea with the need for the specific context within the book.

The Dance of Coevolution: Nature's Symbiotic Symphony

Charles Darwin, in his follow-up to "On the Origin of Species," explored a fascinating aspect of evolution: the intricate dance between flowers and insects. During the Cretaceous age, flowers began developing vibrant colors and alluring scents, while insects simultaneously evolved complex tools to extract pollen. This wasn't a zero-sum game of survival, but a beautiful example of coevolution. Flowers and insects adapted to complement each other perfectly, with flowers even producing energy-rich nectar to entice their pollinators. This symbiotic relationship demonstrates that nature's "survival of the fittest" isn't always about competition; sometimes, it's about finding the perfect partner and evolving together in harmony.

The Hummingbird Effect: Unexpected Innovations

Steven Johnson introduces the "hummingbird effect," where innovations in one field trigger unexpected changes in another. Like a hummingbird's unique flight, born from flowers' symbiosis with insects, these effects can be subtle or profound. Johnson explains how breakthroughs in measurement, such as the pendulum clock, can open unforeseen opportunities. New tools may create novel problems, reduce natural barriers, or influence us metaphorically. The author emphasizes that social transformations aren't always direct results of human decisions, but rather emerge from complex interactions between innovations and their environments. This concept reminds us that progress often comes from unexpected connections, urging us to look beyond obvious cause-and-effect relationships in understanding technological and social change.

The Long Zoom of History

Steven Johnson challenges us to rethink how we view historical narratives. Instead of focusing solely on famous inventors or national events, he proposes a "long zoom" approach. This perspective examines multiple scales of experience simultaneously, from the microscopic to the global. For instance, the story of voice transmission isn't just about Edison and Bell; it encompasses anatomical drawings, the Titanic, civil rights, and quirky vacuum tubes. Johnson argues that true historical understanding requires us to zoom in and out, considering how atomic vibrations and climate change interplay with human innovation. By embracing this multi-layered view, we uncover deeper, more interconnected stories—like how the fall of Constantinople influenced lens-making, which in turn shaped scientific revolutions.

The Unintended Innovation Hub

In 13th-century Venice, glassmaking was both a prized skill and a fire hazard. To protect the city's wooden structures from the furnaces' intense heat, the government exiled glassmakers to nearby Murano island in 1291. This decision inadvertently created an innovation hub, concentrating artisans in a small area and fostering what economists call "information spillover." The density of talent on Murano accelerated the flow of ideas, sparking a surge of creativity that would shape the future of glassmaking. Sometimes, isolation can lead to unexpected collaboration and innovation.

New Ways of Measuring Create New Possibilities for Making

In 1887, physicist Charles Vernon Boys made an unexpected breakthrough while seeking a fine glass shard for experiments to measure the effects of force on delicate objects. Using a custom-built crossbow to fire bolts attached to molten glass, Boys created incredibly thin, yet surprisingly strong glass fibers. This unconventional method revealed a hidden property of glass: its potential for strength. Boys's discovery led to the development of fiberglass, revolutionizing industries from aviation to computing. His experiment exemplifies how new ways of measuring often unlock new possibilities for making, like bacterial content measurement revolutionizing public health and quartz time enabling modern computation.

The Invisible Architect of Civilization: Glass

From windows to microscopes, glass has shaped our world in ways we often overlook. As Steven Johnson points out, this quantum-manipulated silicon has been fundamental to human progress for a millennium. Without glass, we'd lose not just the aesthetics of stained-glass cathedrals or modern cityscapes, but the very foundations of scientific advancement. Imagine a world devoid of test tubes, lenses, and lightbulbs - our understanding of cells, viruses, and even our place in the universe would be drastically limited. Glass, in its quiet transparency, has extended human life spans and deepened our knowledge of what makes us human. It's a silent hero, invisibly framing our view of the world and ourselves.

When Novelty Freezes Innovation

Frederic Tudor's ice-selling venture in the Caribbean teaches us a valuable lesson about innovation. Tudor assumed that the sheer novelty of ice in tropical Martinique would guarantee its success. However, as Steven Johnson reveals, Tudor's frozen cargo met with bewilderment rather than enthusiasm. The locals simply didn't know what to do with it. This story reminds us that true innovation isn't just about introducing something new; it's about understanding and addressing a genuine need. Sometimes, the very novelty that makes an idea exciting can also be its biggest obstacle to adoption.

Adjacent Possible: When Ideas Become Imaginable

In the mid-19th century, a young doctor's dream of making ice became reality, not because he was a genius, but because the idea had entered the realm of the "adjacent possible." Stuart Kauffman's concept explains how breakthroughs occur when the necessary building blocks align. Ideas, as networks of other ideas, require the right tools, metaphors, and scientific understanding of their time to come to fruition. A refrigerator couldn't be invented in the 17th century, no matter how brilliant the mind behind it. But by 1850, the pieces had fallen into place, allowing artificial cold to move from unthinkable to achievable. This reminds us that innovation isn't just about individual brilliance, but about the collective progression of human knowledge and technology.

The Slow Hunch

Clarence Birdseye's journey to revolutionizing frozen food began with a simple observation: trout caught during ice-fishing expeditions tasted remarkably fresh when thawed. This spark of curiosity led to years of experimentation and what author Steven Johnson calls a "slow hunch." Unlike the mythical eureka moment, Birdseye's idea evolved gradually over a decade, shaped by diverse experiences from frozen lakes to rotting cod in fishing ships. His persistence in nurturing this hunch ultimately transformed the food industry, proving that groundbreaking innovations often emerge not from sudden flashes of insight, but from patient cultivation of ideas over time.

Leaps and Limitations With Metaphors

Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville's invention of the phonautograph in the 1850s demonstrates how metaphors can both inspire and limit innovation. Scott's breakthrough in recording sound was inspired by stenography, leading him to "write waves instead of words." However, this same metaphor blinded him to the possibility of playback. Scott envisioned humans learning to "read" sound waves like shorthand, creating an advanced transcription service rather than an audio player. This case illustrates how our mental models can propel us forward in one direction while simultaneously preventing us from seeing other possibilities.

Concealed Knowledge In Simple Acts

Every time you check your phone for the time, you're tapping into a vast reservoir of scientific and technological knowledge. Steven Johnson reveals how this simple act relies on complex systems: from electron circulation in cesium atoms to satellite microwave signals, rocket science, and advanced computation. Yet, as progress marches on, these intricate processes become increasingly invisible. Johnson notes, "The more we build up these vast repositories of scientific and technological understanding, the more we conceal them." This concealment is the hallmark of true advancement, allowing us to effortlessly benefit from centuries of human ingenuity without comprehending its complexity.

Science Fiction: The Crystal Ball of Technology

H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds" introduced the "heat ray," a weapon that would shape the sci-fi genre for generations. This fictional device, capable of projecting intense heat in a concentrated beam, became a staple in futuristic narratives long before real lasers existed. From Flash Gordon to Star Trek, these light-based weapons captured the imagination of audiences, showcasing sci-fi's uncanny ability to foreshadow technological advancements. It wasn't until the late 1950s that actual laser beams were developed, with practical applications emerging two decades later. This gap between imagination and reality highlights how science fiction often serves as a crystal ball, envisioning technologies that eventually become part of our everyday lives.

The Genius at the Margins

Steven Johnson explores the common thread among time travelers - those visionaries who saw far beyond their era. These innovators often worked at the fringes of their fields or at the intersection of disparate disciplines. Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville, for instance, conceived sound recording by blending ideas from stenography, printing, and ear anatomy. Ada Lovelace's unique position between advanced math and Romantic poetry allowed her to envision the Analytical Engine's potential for manipulating symbols and composing music. Johnson suggests that it's this ability to draw connections across diverse domains, coupled with a "Romantic instinct to see beyond the surface," that enables these geniuses to imagine and create technologies far ahead of their time.

Reading Suggestions

These books were mentioned in How We Got To Now:

1. War in the Age of Intelligent Machines by Manuel DeLanda
2. The Idea Factory by Jon Gertner
3. The Chlorine Revolution by Michael J. McGuire
4. Learning from Las Vegas by Robert Venturi
5. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells