- Greg Worden
- Camden, ME
- United States
Entrepreneur and Adjunct Professor of Sustainable Business, Worden Associates
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Where does innovation occur?
It's common right now to look at new technologies like solar, wind or diesel or hydrogen from algae or even aquaculture and conclude they're not very good so let's stop and go back to something that works well. This is the "if it ain't broke don't fix it attitude."
But if we go to an old car or airplane museum with exhibits dating back to the beginning of last century we see lots of ideas that were either new then and evolved dramatically later or were tried and ultimately proved unsuccessful. That's how I see alternative and renewable energies as well as other technologies like aquaculture. No, they're hardly perfect.
Should we simply wait until they are perfected in the laboratory? How about some good capitalists weigh in on this one.
Where does innovation occur?
How can we achieve more?
Robert Winner 50+
As most are aware of there have been hundreds of innovations to carburators and altenative fuels that have proven effective. These are disruptive to the industry and are bought up and stored.
As a former member of industry I can promise you that the next three or maybe four generations of innovations are being tested today. These will come out one at a time at the best possible marketing and sales period ... usually at Chrismas.
The problem at hand is not the innovators or inventors it is the cost to manufacture, distribute, sell, etc the product. That would only occur if you had someone to finance the adventure. Companies like Apple, microsoft, etc ... have large R & D departments and the tax laws favor them expending lots and writing them off as losses etc ...
As a Professor in the Business department you probally spend some time in start up ventures.
Innovation occurs daily and ony a few will ever hit the light of day. These innovators come from all walks of life .... moms, dads, kids, workers in all fields.
The days of the individual is probally at an end. So the individual should spend the money to patient the idea and then present it to a company that deals in the area the invention represents. If it is thought to be a good idea worth marketing then leave it to lawyers and agents to hammer out a deal.
Good question .... many answers ... the bottom line by the defination above is still money going in and coming out.
All the best. Bob.
Greg Worden
John Smith 30+
No, using them in the field can speed up development, also, we shouldn't think about money only because the true costs of polluting is rarely included in the sticker price (environmental degradation is regarded as something the tax payer or future generations will have to deal with, instead of a cost in your production process), solar panels might cost a few more bucks than coal plants but if the coal plants would make the Earth uninhabitable then spending a few extra bucks on solar panels is an incredible bargain.
Greg Worden
John Smith 30+
Gail . 50+
Linux, Apache, Firefox, Thunderbird, Open Office, various freeware financial management software programs, CAD programs, art programs, language tutors, to name just a few, were created by people who volunteer their time, talents, and skill sets to design products and produce products that they then GIVE AWAY - and these are wildly successful. These free tools allow you to use your computer in ways that eliminates the need to hire people to do the same tasks that you can now do.
At a time when exponential population growth is combined with exponential automation, the consumers that are needed to sustain capitalism are being stripped of their ability to consume. Business today is ignoring not only the disconnect between what science says about what motivates and what business does, but it is ignoring the crisis in capitalism that exists in the "real" world.
This is also something that supports a need to reconnect what we know with what we do. If you dont want to watch the full 11 minutes, start at the 5:00 mark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOP2V_np2c0&list=FL23ULzV7ik5lQQo51yOnJ0g&index=12&feature=plpp_video
Greg Worden
There seems to be a realization on the both the Left (Occupy) and the Right (Tea Party) that excessive financial engineering and crony capitalism is destructive and ultimately counterproductive. So the question is, what do we do now?
Gail . 50+
My personal preference is certainly a minority one, but then I am one of those who have learned how to consciously manifest reality, so I do not believe that I am in as vulnerable a position when the whole economy comes tumbling down. I believe that humankind will get to a moneyless system (including no barter economy), but I'm not so sure that it will happen in my lifetime. I remain hopeful though.
Greg Worden
Gail . 50+
The gift economy encourages cooperation. I share my talents because I love what I do best. You share your talents for the same reason. This naturally brings us together into social units while it celebrates diversity. Those who do not participate will quickly become social outcasts, and in this way be encouraged to participate until such time as the cultural programming is in place.
Technology and automation will help, but government(s) need to own the resources and the Internet (the people's library) on behalf of people and people drive government rather than politicians who profit at our expense, which is really not such a major shift. It just seems like it to Americans because we have been intentionally lied to about our own history and our government is implicit in furthering the lies.
When I used to look ahead toward my retirement, I thought it would be glorious to have nothing to do. But lo and behold, I am busier than ever. I'm just doing things that I enjoy doing - things that have meaning and purpose. What if everyone's day was so exciting?
It all boils down to properly educating ourselves. This makes our talents more valuable to the whole and our own lives more satisfying. Not tightly focused educations, but supplement the specialties with broad-based learning. This way I can improve my life and have much left over to give away.
Do you remember the blackout in LA a few years ago? People were calling the police asking what those lights in the sky were. The police were confused. They went out and didn't see anything unusual. Finally someone realized that the callers were talking about stars. We need to do better than that. If we don't, we don't deserve to survive. If we don't get the population growth under control, and find a way to reduce +/or accommodate global warming, and find a way to exist without "consumers", we will not survive.
Gail . 50+
Take Camden, ME, for instance. There you sit on the water, but have a group of interested citizens designed a system using barrels or discarded soda bottles, magnets, and coils to take advantage of the wave energy to create DC energy that could then be inverted to AC power to power a building? (I'm thinking of an expanded version of those little flashlights that you shake for a minute to produce 20 minutes of light - combined with an old-fashioned barn raising concept)
Innovation is a rather amazing thing. Establish a platform where interested parties can share interests, and they begin innovating and producing for fun rather than profits. Humans are social animals, after all, and social gatherings with a purpose are built into the core of our identities as seen through the history of human kind. If there were such a forum in Camden, perhaps some of your many artists would begin decorating the floating energy collectors to complement the beloved lobster buoys.
You might find this video interesting. It's about what motivates people. (Hint: It's not capitalism)
http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html
Fritzie Reisner 100+
http://www.ted.com/talks/kent_larson_brilliant_designs_to_fit_more_people_in_every_city.html
More broadly, combinatorial thinking, delayed censoring of ideas, and a willingness to tinker.
Feyisayo Anjorin 50+
Then we can crawl, walk, run and eventually fly.
Greg Worden
I fully agree that an invention does not reach its full potential when first released. It needs time "in the field" for people to tinker with it. It also needs continued support for research and development.
When I hear people say that alternative energies should not be subsidized because they provide less than 3% of the overall energy mix or complain that they're too inefficient they're forgetting the basic notion that it takes considerable time for many inventions to have a serious impact or improve in efficacy. New technologies do indeed take time to develop fully and some may end up being duds that need to be discarded. That's all part of the evolution of technology. Some branches are simply dead ends.
Ehis Odijie 10+
Greg Worden
You're right. There are a lot of great ideas that get shot down. It's hard to weather all of the criticism that can come with a truly innovative idea. It's also hard to put it into action particularly if it requires capital. Venture capitalists like to think they think outside of the box but in too many ways they follow a heard mentality.
James Zhang 30+
A lot of new inspiration comes from new technological discoveries. That Ted Talk where they can film light in slow motion was something incredible. I could think of like a billion possible new uses it would allow us to do.
Another thing that would accelerate the amount of inspiration we can get from a new technology is accessibility to the public. And by this, we mean how abundant is the new technology and how affordable is it?
Greg Worden
Salim Solaiman 50+
In our today's business model no innovation means anything until it is commercially viable.Think of todays very popular cellular phone technology....when it first invented & when it become our part of life ?
Being a professor of business I am sure you teach students about "Adoption Process" of Innovation ..... with my naive feeling my humble opinion is , someone need to push "innovation" through that cycle if s/he believes in it offering real value proposition.....
Greg Worden
Helen Hupe 30+
Erudite Explorer
Helen Hupe 30+
Mark Kurtz 20+
I've wondered many times who may be harvesting the ideas presented here on TED. Perhaps TED is an "innovation maker machine"!
Good questions you have here!
Pilots could use a good wireless headset in the flight deck, but no one has been inspired! What to do if government agencies would nix ideas? I don't know if the FAA has nixed this one, but it would be appreciated because no wires is convenient. Is the expense of research and approval/certification a major roadblock for innovation?
Greg Worden
I like the wireless headset idea. As you know the FAA moves very slowly. I see that American Airlines is moving toward iPads for their flight manuals which is a step in the right direction. Maybe soon we won't have to turn off our electronics upon takeoff. Then perhaps wireless headsets will be next.
pat gilbert 50+
Robert Galway 20+
Perfecting in the laboratory is probably not the goal. I would that making it litigation proof and environmentally friendly were more probable goals.
Innovation occurs every where, I think the trick is recognizing it and thinking of ways to employ it, particularly ways other than the way it was intended to be employed. Trolling Google Patents is a neat way to see innovation. There is actually a lot of innovation in some of the contests for science, engineering, and design that are available for kids.
More innovation will come in the area of alternative energy from scientists, engineers, and inventors, particularly if spurred by research grants. The nations labs are also centers of innovation of all kinds. Some of the papers and publications produced by these facilities are ripe with potential for investment.
Maybe a TV program about young inventors, or the greatest researchers, or perhaps new ideas in science and mechanics might help.
Greg Worden