One of the theories on why more innovations (heliocentrism, discovery of the New World, etc.) happended in Europe instead of China (which is where astronomy, navigation, etc. were far more advanced) is that in China, there was lot more centralization. If you went to the Emperor and couldn't convince him that the earth was round, you were done. In Europe you could shop your idea around to a bunch of Kings and Queens until someone liked your idea.
Success in science and innovation isn't driven by efficiency. It's driven by diversity. You want to have a lot of little groups trying out crazy ideas.
To understand this, it helpful to understand Moivre's equation, which... (read more)
One of the theories on why more innovations (heliocentrism, discovery of the New World, etc.) happended in Europe instead of China (which is where astronomy, navigation, etc. were far more advanced) is that in China, there was lot more centralization. If you went to the Emperor and couldn't convince him that the earth was round, you were done. In Europe you could shop your idea around to a bunch of Kings and Queens until someone liked your idea.
Success in science and innovation isn't driven by efficiency. It's driven by diversity. You want to have a lot of little groups trying out crazy ideas.
To understand this, it helpful to understand Moivre's equation, which... (read more)