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THE ORIGINS OF EFFICIENCY
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Reading List 12/13/2025
Boom Supersonic’s gas turbine, the reliability of learning curves, a fake bridge collapse, using coal mines for geothermal energy, and more.
Dec 13
•
Brian Potter
42
1
1
Stagnant Construction Productivity Is a Worldwide Problem
We’ve spent a lot of time examining the problem of construction productivity in the US — the fact that, across a variety of different metrics…
Dec 11
•
Brian Potter
91
97
9
Reading List 12/06/2025
3D printed legos, exploding wire detonators, the David Taylor model basin, multi-point metal forming, and more.
Dec 6
•
Brian Potter
33
3
1
November 2025
Reading List 11/29/25
NIMBYism and aesthetics, defibrillator drones, railway track detonators, a proposed mach-23 space gun, and more.
Nov 29
•
Brian Potter
42
6
How a Government Think Tank Trained The First Generation of US Software Developers
The US government had a hand in creating much of the early computer industry.
Nov 26
•
Brian Potter
118
8
11
Reading List 11/22/25
The ship failure that caused the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, the boring part of Bell Labs, a more efficient way of making antimatter, underground…
Nov 22
•
Brian Potter
52
4
2
How ASML Got EUV
I am pleased to cross-post this piece with Factory Settings, the new Substack from IFP.
Nov 20
•
Brian Potter
120
19
9
Reading List 11/15/25
Israel refilling a lake with desalinated seawater, South Korean nuclear subs, ways to make titanium cheap, a “new Bell Labs”, and more.
Nov 15
•
Brian Potter
68
10
2
What Is A Production Process?
Chapter 1 of my book “The Origins of Efficiency”
Nov 13
•
Brian Potter
75
14
4
Reading List 11/8/2025
Gathering robot training data, “love letters” sent to home sellers, the Napier Deltic diesel engine, jumps in electricity demand from electric…
Nov 8
•
Brian Potter
54
3
5
Strap Rail
The early history of the United States runs along with the first years of the railroad.
Nov 6
•
Brian Potter
151
4
7
Reading List 11/01/2025
A new semiconductor lithography startup, how to make batteries more like bombs, AI and real estate listings, a monastery being built in Wyoming, and…
Nov 1
•
Brian Potter
44
5
3
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