The idea of a “breakthrough” denotes a sudden leap forwards. There have been some of those.
One might cite back propagation, for example—but big breakthroughs seem rare, and most progress seems attributable to other factors—much as Robin Hanson claims happens in general: “in large systems most innovation value comes from many small innovations”.
Of course, “breakthroughs” is a cumulative impression: now you don’t know how to solve the problem or even how to state it, and 10 years later you do.
The idea of a “breakthrough” denotes a sudden leap forwards. There have been some of those.
One might cite back propagation, for example—but big breakthroughs seem rare, and most progress seems attributable to other factors—much as Robin Hanson claims happens in general: “in large systems most innovation value comes from many small innovations”.