Brad DeLong on Intellectual and Technical Progress | Conversations with Tyler

Royal Society

The Royal Society emerged as a pivotal force in shaping experimental science in England. Brad DeLong highlights how the Society's commitment to empirical evidence marked a significant departure from the past, where ideas were often valued for their utility in maintaining power rather than their truth 1. This shift towards valuing truth through experimentation was a miraculous transformation, as DeLong notes, "The Royal Society decides nothing except through experiment, that we are going to demand that nature tell us, or tell one of us, or at least someone writes us a letter saying they've done the experiment about what is true."

The Royal Society decides nothing except through experiment, that we are going to demand that nature tell us, or tell one of us, or at least someone writes us a letter saying they've done the experiment about what is true.

--- Brad DeLong

This approach laid the groundwork for a systematic change in how knowledge was pursued, contrasting with earlier periods where knowledge was often tied to power structures 2.

   

German Universities

The 19th-century rise of German universities was a remarkable phenomenon that significantly contributed to academic and technological progress. Tyler Cowen and Brad discuss how German institutions, particularly in fields like mathematics, outpaced their counterparts in other countries, including Britain and the US 3. DeLong attributes this to Germany's focus on practical and scientific education, contrasting with Britain's emphasis on classical education. He notes, "It is absolutely marvelous that you would expect the country that is the most industrialized and that has at least the most advanced universities in 1800 who have an enormous comparative advantage in driving forward technology and in maintaining its place as the kind of industrial technological leader. And yet not so."

It is absolutely marvelous that you would expect the country that is the most industrialized and that has at least the most advanced universities in 1800 who have an enormous comparative advantage in driving forward technology and in maintaining its place as the kind of industrial technological leader. And yet not so.

--- Brad DeLong

This focus on engineering and scientific disciplines enabled Germany to lead in technological advancements, while Britain's reluctance to invest in these areas led to its decline in technological leadership.