Stagnation (Round 2)

Readings:
1 - No Great Technological Stagnation by José Luis Ricón, 2016
2 - Tyler Cowen's sequence of (brief) blog comments on the end of stagnation from Nov 2020, Dec 2020 (1, 2), April 2021, March 2023, and August 2024
3 - Noah Smith on Pop Culture Stagnation, 2025

For more 'there wasn't actually a stagnation' content, consider the following (though we'll focus on the above 3 during discussion):
Still no great stagnation by José Luis Ricón - 2021
There was no great stagnation by Adam Hunt - 2022

For context, round 1 of this discussion on August 6 focused on the following readings:
Review of J. Storrs Hall's "Where's my Flying Car" by Jason Crawford (or the book)
Review of Robert Gordon's "The Rise and Fall of American Growth," by JC (or the book)
Tyler Cowen on The Great Stagnation in 2011 - 17 min video (or the book)
The above provide an overview of 3 influential perspectives on stagnation.
Crawford context setting on technology stagnation and clarifications
... and the delightfully disconcerting WTF Happened in 1971

When & where: Discussion will be at 6:30PM on Wednesday August 20th - we meet at Vintage Wine Bar & Bookstore (google) - 1101 E 11th St - typically upstairs.

Who should join?
No prior engagement with progress studies or the broader community is necessary. We welcome curious minds interested in progress, humanism, and agency—whether you’re deeply invested or just exploring. Expect a range of viewpoints and constructive, thoughtful dialogue.

Image: he 1904 World's Fair, St Louis, Missouri: the Festival Hall with gondolas and a swan-boat on the Grand Basin. Photograph, 1904. Created 1904. Source.