Information theory, cybernetics and the theory of finite automata are
used to model learning-by-doing, bounded rationality, routine behavior,
and the formation of teams. The non-neoclassical characterization of
production developed in this book ignores the usual quantitative
relationships between inputs and outputs and instead views production
strictly as a problem of control and communication. The motivation for
this unconventional characterization of production comes from
Schumpeter's critique of neoclassical economic theory. Schumpeter argued
that neoclassical economic theory, and the habits of thought engendered
by it, was the major obstacle to acquiring an understanding of
technological change. The non-neoclassical characterization of
production developed in this book is in keeping with how economic
historians describe specific technological changes and how they write
technological histories about particular machines, firms or industries.