That seens quite haphasard as a list, "three masted sailing ship" ? What purpose technology is that?

Maybe he just tries to box together things that have moved humanity forward? But then he forgets penicillin or medicine, space science (rockets, GPS,...), the internet, lots of stuff. Sounds like someone who thinks he knows it all but, surprise, doesn't.

And as a CEO he feels "lean production" is one of them. Of course.

For those that don't want to click the X link:

General purpose technologies are the closest thing we have to magic.

Each has given us more with less - and propelled civilization forward. Check out this list of 24 over the last 10,000 years

• Domestication of plants
• Domestication of animals
• Smelting of ore
• Money
• Wheel
• Writing
• Bronze
• Iron
• Water wheel
• Three-masted sailing ship
• Printing
• Factory system
• Steam Engine
• Railways
• Steamship
• Internal combustion engine
• Electricity
• Automobile
• Airplane
• Mass production
• Computer
• Lean production
• Internet
• Biotechnology

AND we have AI, the ultimate meta-technology...

the real question is how many further general-purpose technologies it can unlock in turn.

"Smelting of ore", "bronze", and "iron" seem like they are either duplicates or not specific enough to be a "general purpose technology". On the flip side, I would argue for the inclusion of radio, distinct from electricity.

There's also a notable lack of chemical processes other than "smelting". Electrolysis, nitrogen fixation (Haber-Bosch), and cement would be good contenders.

How about light? Isn't extra work hours, the ability to operate vehicles at night general purpose enough?

I found the source: https://www.amazon.com/Economic-Transformations-General-Purpose-Technologies/dp/019929089X . And I added a screenshot of the table of content (available as a sample on amazon)