Technology in India and China: Running Fast

Clocks, zero and paper – these and many other fundamental innovations emerged in Asia. Yet around the 15th century, the surge in Asian innovation tapered off. Scholars seek to explain sources for innovation and posit that leaders must provide incentives for progress; internal or external forces can give inventors a sense of purpose. Today, Asians are eager to pursue innovation through education and entrepreneurship. China, India and other nations rapidly develop their economies on the basis of hardware and software. Yet this article in the Economist reminds that innovators can build upon technological discoveries from other nations. For example, China invented gunpowder more than 1000 years ago, and centuries later, inventors in Europe applied the invention to weaponry. Innovation comes in many forms, and the Economist article explains how nations can advance their economies by analyzing the technological know-how already available and applying it to current-day problems. – YaleGlobal