Diffusion

1. Inhibiting factors

1.1. Isolation

1.1.1. It’s hard to get new ideas when you’re far away from the source

1.2. Fads

1.2.1. Sometimes we value dumb stuff that prevents good ideas from becoming accepted

2. “Without diffusion, fewer technologies are acquired, and more existing technologies are lost” (p. 249).

3. “The rate of human invention is faster, and the rate of cultural loss is slower, in areas occupied by many competing societies with many individuals and in contact with societies elsewhere” (p. 443).

4. Spreading

4.1. Innovations, ideas, & technologies

5. Like a gas

5.1. A gas spreads in all directions until it fills a container

6. Promoting factors

6.1. War

6.1.1. Observable tech advantages spread easily

6.2. E/immigration

6.2.1. People take their ideas and tech with them when they relocate

6.3. Peaceful trade

6.3.1. Tech and innovation can be traded as commodities

6.4. Espionage

6.4.1. Good ideas are stolen

7. Invention is the mother of Necessity

7.1. We create needs for our inventions. When inventions become popular, they spread easily

8. No heroic geniuses

8.1. Innovations come from innovations, not single geniuses