# New technology requires previous infrastructure Take the “Connecticut Yankee” scenario - if you dropped even the most experienced team of engineers in medieval Europe, they would be hard-pressed to create anything useful without modern tools, and supply chains. Additionally, “Process knowledge” - the nitty-gritty subtleties of building things that are near-impossible to transmit via writing may be even more important than physical infrastructure.[^1] This infrastructure involves both physical infrastructure - reagents, logistics and labs for biotech, components and manufacturing capability for electronics, and even software requires consistent electric and internet supplies. This is why [[Most attempts to create Type II progress directly through type I progress fail]] [^1]: See Dan Wang’s [How Technology Grows (a Restatement of Definite Optimism)](https://danwang.co/how-technology-grows/) <!-- #evergreen --> [Web URL for this note](http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/New+technology+requires+previous+infrastructure) [Comment on this note](http://via.hypothes.is/http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/New+technology+requires+previous+infrastructure)