Sharing the knowledge burden

The Economist:

ALBERT EINSTEIN was a singular genius. The Albert Einstein model of discovery, however–the solitary mind producing remarkable insight–was not particularly unusual for his time. For much of the period from the beginning of the industrial revolution, scientific and technical advances–including the occasional stroke of brilliance–were within the reach of the diligent amateur and the garage tinkerer. That is no longer the case. As the stock of human knowledge increases, the time needed to move oneself to the knowledge frontier grows. In a 2009 paper, Benjamin Jones noted: