XPost: alt.politics, alt.history, alt.politics.usa
https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/concept-of-technology-in-late-18th-century-Germany
. . .
Gist ... up until the 1700s, "technology" was mostly
a compendium of "how-to" methods for common tasks.
"Guilds" had developed much earlier. The idea was to
keep the knowledge required for common/important
structural/engineering tasks SECRET, very much
compartmentalized. Having/controlling such "secret"
knowledge made you IMPORTANT, a real player, powers
State and biz had to DEAL with.
Stonemasonry figured large for 500+ years ... only
those in that guild knew how to properly build large
stone structures. Metallurgy - weapons esp but also
gold/silver tech - also figured large.
Problem, highly compartmentalized practical knowledge
might have political/financial advantages, but was NOT
good for ADVANCING said knowledge. Many eyes, many
players, is better for that.
By the 1800s, the influence and relevance of the
guilds considerably diminished. However the question
is now much, how long, the guild system DELAYED
western sci/tech advances. It MAY be as bad or worse
than the HRCC grip on science.
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)