>>14414826I'd guess a local maxima would be indicated by low innovation through the ages, maybe not something that can be seen by one human but an organization certainly could, and on the note, I'm sure the "current, optimized local maxima and better design" sequence is actually a loop happening consistently through human history.
Just look at how long it took to transition from the bronze age to iron age (about 2k years), it's been getting shorter since but it would still take centuries.
