Explanations about economic change are still bedeviled by unspoken philosophical assumptions. When talking about work and prosperity, or lack thereof, or about the production of goods and machines, we assume that the forces at play must be material – money being foremost among them. They have to be countable, movable, and capable of mathematical expression. Being truly scientific when studying economic change means that the historian, whenever possible, must use equations and numbers to express change over time. What a disruption to introduce something as vague as knowledge or education – that is, culture which, it is assumed, must be immaterial.

The unspoken assumptions rest on the old matter/spirit, body/mind dichotomy, with its roots deep in Western thought, both classical and Christian. Seen in this manner, one-dimensional homo economicus responds to material stimuli, rushes to make profit, invents technology when it is needed, and prides himself on the rationality of his choices. For example, when faced with an exorbitant cost of wage labor (even when he does not know, comparatively, that it is exorbitant), he seeks to develop other sources of energy, and in an effort to reduce his wage bill, turns to coal. To caricature the argument, he comes upon the right knowledge that just happens to be there when he needs it. In the eighteenth century, whether engaged in manufacturing or mining, the best means of achieving profitability meant accessing the new, coal-driven steam engine, among other mechanical devices.