The article argues that some federal government intervention earlier during WWII jump-started the tech innovations we saw from the 1950s to 1970s.
It also talks about how the Internet seems to be the only really new game-changing innovation since the 80s and seeks to explain why this is the case.
Among other things, of course, such as the nature of “tech clusters” such as Silicon Valley and Austin, Texas.
I distinctly remember reading the Foundation novels and thinking that people, a whole civilization, couldn’t just forget technology that quickly. No way! But reality is that it erodes constantly at the edges where the required knowledge only exists in one person’s head. Combined with a corporate love affair with layoffs, there isn’t a built-up institutional knowledge that is recorded and passed on. You can get away with ritual and a prayer, but eventually something breaks and nobody knows why.
I always laugh at what companies skimp on, compared to the labor costs lost to slow tech.