What Noah Smith thinks about innovation
Economics writer; author of the Noahpinion newsletter.
Noah Smith did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
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Only Noah Smith on innovation. See everyone on innovation
3 dated positions, 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Noah Smith has said — not written or endorsed by them.
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Their wordsThe four eras of SF tech culture correspond to four different technologies that were at the center of the city's innovation ecosystem at different times: 1. The Web 2. Social-Mobile 3. Crypto 4. AI
- 2 days earlier
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Their wordsThe last four great examples of mostly-unassisted human technological innovation will go down in history as: - mRNA vaccines - Chinese electrotech - reusable rockets - GLP-1 drugs
- 4 weeks earlier
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Their wordsIn the 70s and 80s, Japanese companies could get cheap plentiful bank loans to develop new products and explore new markets. Today, they can't. Innovation is downstream of finance.