The thesis of Robert Gordon’s magisterial book The Rise and Fall of American Growth, stands in sharp contrast to the technological optimism that bubbles out of Silicon Valley. The argument is that the years from 1870 to 1970 were the “special century”. Someone born when Benjamin Disraeli was prime minister and who lived to see Edward Heath in Downing Street would have witnessed horse-drawn transport give way to cars and aircraft. Born when medical services were largely useless, she would have seen cures found for most infectious diseases and experienced the introduction of electric light, indoor plumbing and colour television.
羅伯特•高登(Robert Gordon)權威著作《美國成長的起落》(The Rise and Fall of American Growth)的論點與矽谷迸發出的科技樂觀主義形成鮮明對照。本書認爲，1870年至1970年是一個「特別世紀」。在班傑明•迪斯雷利(Benjamin Disraeli)擔任英國首相時出生、並在有生之年看到愛德華•希斯(Edward Heath)入主唐寧街的人，見證了馬拉交通被汽車和飛機取代。出生於醫療服務基本無用時的她，見證了多數傳染病治療方法的發現，並經歷了電燈、室內下水管道以及彩電的誕生。