Abstract
Knowledge bases are highly complex systems and represent combinations, arrangements of units of knowledge to solve problems in specific periods of time. When technological cycles advance, knowledge bases evolve. In the past 30 years, we have identified two technological waves. The first started with the seven technological paradigms of the 1980s (microelectronics, computers, telecommunications, audiovisual, new materials, semiconductors and biotechnology). The second emerged with the so-called key enabling technologies (nanotechnology, micro and nanoelectronic, industrial biotechnology, photonics, advanced materials and advanced manufacturing) from the 2000s. This article analyzes the evolution of properties and the complexity of the world knowledge base between 1978- 2016, considering the emergence of these paradigms. Using patent data and network analysis, the work calculates indicators of variety, coherence, cognitive distance and convergence of the knowledge base. The results confirm that the technological paradigms of the 1980s led to an increase in the diversification and complexity of the knowledge base through an 'outward' convergence, that is, between unrelated technologies. The arrival of the microparadigms of the 2000s reveals a retraction of the knowledge base that evolves 'inwards', that is, through trajectories previously established.
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