Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper - How Innovation Keeps Proving the Catastrophists Wrong

Q: Why does the book argue for moving beyond “collapse anxiety”?

It presents innovation as a consistent force that improves living standards through smaller, faster, lighter, denser, and cheaper technologies, countering narratives that predict worsening outcomes.

Q: What “degrowth” perspective does the book address?

It critiques the push for degrowth, arguing that historical and ongoing innovation tends to reduce scarcity and costs rather than driving decline.

Q: How does the book approach energy and climate policy?

It argues for correct energy-policy choices, rejects certain alternatives as inadequate, and emphasizes paths such as nuclear power (N2N) to meet climate and energy needs.

Jul 30, 2026

Upload by Theodore

Innovation increasingly reduces cost, size, weight, and energy intensity while improving performance, and the book argues this pattern contradicts “collapse anxiety” and degrowth narratives. It traces how technological breakthroughs—from early industry to computing, communications, education, medicine, and food production—create more abundant living standards. The discussion also examines energy and climate policy choices, critiques energy shortfall claims, and defends smarter paths such as nuclear power within a global smaller-faster future.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages405

Reading Time17 h 1 min

Introduction: Moving Beyond “Collapse Anxiety”

PART I The Push for Innovation, Its Consequences, and the Degrowth Agenda

1 Panama: Digging a Faster Cheaper Way to Travel

2 The Trend Toward Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper

3 Never Have So Many Lived So Well

4 Back to the Past: The Push for “Degrowth”

PART II Our Attosecond World: How We Got Here, Where We’re Going, and the Companies Leading the Way

5 Angstroms and Attoseconds

6 How Our Quest for Faster Drives Innovation

7 Faster Lighter Doper

8 The Engines of the Economy

9 From ENIAC to iCloud: Smaller Faster Computing

10 From LP to iPod

11 From Kublai Khan to M-PESA

12 Density and the Wealth of Cities

13 Denser Cheaper Food Production

14 The Faster the Bits, the Freer the People

15 From Monks to MOOCs: Faster Cheaper Education

16 Smaller Faster Cheaper Medicine

PART III The Need for Cheaper Energy

17 The Faster the (Drill) Bits, the Cheaper the Energy

18 The Tyranny of Density

19 Smaller Faster and the Coal Question

PART IV Embracing Our Smaller Faster Future

20 Getting Energy Policy Right Reject Wind and Biofuels

21 Climate Change Requires N2N

22 Embrace Nuclear Green

23 SX Smaller Faster

24 Conclusion: Moving Past Fear

[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) SMALLER FASTER LIGHTER DENSER CHEAPER [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Copyright © 2014 by Robert Bryce. Published in the United States by PublicAffairs™, a Member of the Perseus Books Group All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address PublicAffairs, 250 West 57th Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10107. PublicAffairs books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the US by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, call (800) 810-4145, ext. 5000, or e-mail [special.markets@perseusbooks.com](special.markets@perseusbooks.com). Book design by Jack Lenzo Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bryce, Robert. Smaller faster lighter denser cheaper : how innovation keeps proving the catastrophists wrong / Robert Bryce. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-61039-206-8 (e-book) 1. Technological innovations—Popular works. I. Title. T173 .8.B76 2014 338'.064—dc23 2013049381 First Edition 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) For my mother, Ann Mahoney Bryce [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) CONTENTS List of Graphics, Tables, and Photos Author ’s Note Introduction: Moving Beyond “Collapse Anxiety” PART I The Push for Innovation, Its Consequences, and the Degrowth Agenda 1 Panama: Digging a Faster Cheaper Way to Travel 2 The Trend Toward Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper The Brain The Printing Press The Vacuum Tube The AK-47 The Haber-Bosch Process The Diesel and the Jet Turbine The Telescope and Microscope The Pearl Street Power Plant The Roller-Cone Drill Bit Digital Communications 3 Never Have So Many Lived So Well 4 Back to the Past: The Push for “Degrowth” SIDEBAR: Bill McKibben’s Energy-Starvation Plan PART II Our Attosecond World: How We Got Here, Where We’re Going, and the Companies Leading the Way 5 Angstroms and Attoseconds 6 How Our Quest for Faster Drives Innovation 7 Faster Lighter Doper SIDEBAR: Tour de Doper 8 The Engines of the Economy SMALLER FASTER INC.: Ford Motor Company 9 From ENIAC to iCloud: Smaller Faster Computing SIDEBAR: The Incredible Shrinking Circuit SIDEBAR: “Green” Computing Can’t Power the Cloud SMALLER FASTER INC.: Intel 10 From LP to iPod 11 From Kublai Khan to M-PESA SMALLER FASTER INC.: Safaricom 12 Density and the Wealth of Cities 13 Denser Cheaper Food Production 14 The Faster the Bits, the Freer the People SIDEBAR: Smaller Lighter Cheaper Phones 15 From Monks to MOOCs: Faster Cheaper Education 16 Smaller Faster Cheaper Medicine PART III The Need for Cheaper Energy 17 The Faster the (Drill) Bits, the Cheaper the Energy SIDEBAR: We’re Running Out of Oil . . . 18 The Tyranny of Density SMALLER FASTER INC.: Clean Energy Systems 19 Smaller Faster and the Coal Question SIDEBAR: India Is Not Going “Beyond Coal” SIDEBAR: GOOG < Coal SMALLER FASTER INC.: Aquion Energy PART IV Embracing Our Smaller Faster Future 20 Getting Energy Policy Right Reject Wind and Biofuels Wind Energy’s Incurable Density Problem SIDEBAR: Debunking the Big Fibs About Wind and Solar Biofuels are “A Crime Against Humanity” 21 Climate Change Requires N2N (N2N is SFLDC) SIDEBAR: We Need to Reduce Gas Flaring 22 Embrace Nuclear Green SIDEBAR: Make Atoms for Peace a Reality 23 SX Smaller Faster: Why the United States Will Dominate the Smaller Faster Future 24 Conclusion: Moving Past Fear APPENDIX A: SI Numerical Designations APPENDIX B: Energy and Power: Units and Equivalents APPENDIX C: Gravimetric Power Density from Hu

FAQs

Why does the book argue for moving beyond “collapse anxiety”?

It presents innovation as a consistent force that improves living standards through smaller, faster, lighter, denser, and cheaper technologies, countering narratives that predict worsening outcomes.

What “degrowth” perspective does the book address?

It critiques the push for degrowth, arguing that historical and ongoing innovation tends to reduce scarcity and costs rather than driving decline.

How does the book approach energy and climate policy?

It argues for correct energy-policy choices, rejects certain alternatives as inadequate, and emphasizes paths such as nuclear power (N2N) to meet climate and energy needs.

Jul 30, 2026

Upload by Theodore