[foolofat00k]

This take just does not concord with reality. The rate at which innovation has happened since the first patent was issued in the 1400s is many orders of magnitude higher than the rate at which it happened before.

I'm would not argue that patents are the cause of this rapid pace of innovation, but the data does not come anywhere close to supporting your claim.

[cool_dude85]

The rate at which innovation has happened since Constantinople fell is also many orders of magnitude higher than the rate at which it happened before. More evidence is needed to assess how much each event contributed to this innovation rate.