Dyson et al.

There were three phases of the economy:

* The first wave, where the main engine for growth is farmers and laborers who toil to produce goods.

* The second wave, which revolved around major industries like packaged foods, oil, etc. and still largely dominate the scene today. All the land that was previously used for agriculture is now used by these industries.

* The third wave, is largely technological and is based on the creation of knowledge.

Every wave has learned to adapt from every subsequent wave. So farming techniques have improved due to industrialization leading to larger crop yields. Industries today have learned to adapt from the technological wave to increase quantities of mass-produced goods. Yet, the third wave will largely remain untapped while second wave thinking remains in place. The ability for technology to change people's lives will remain largely untapped for the time being.

And yet, I wonder if it is the melding of the second and third waves alone that will propel the discovery of new abilities of the third wave, as has been the case until now. Technological innovation has thusfar been facilitated by technological need.