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It’s Not All Lightbulbs
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It’s Not All Lightbulbs

If we abandon the cult of the Great White Innovator, we will understand the history of technology in a much deeper way

W. Patrick McCray
Aeon, 2017
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Innovative
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

Most people associate the term “innovation” with brilliant masterminds who singlehandedly produce an invention so disruptive that it rejiggers the course of the world. Historian W. Patrick McCray argues that the conventional notion of how technology advances is a collective myth. In this article, he provides fascinating examples to make a convincing case for a more complex and nuanced view of innovation. getAbstract recommends McCray’s essay to entrepreneurs and those in charge of corporate innovation.

Take-Aways

  • The conventional concept of innovation does not recognize the complex ways in which technology actually advances.
  • Technology often moves forward incrementally through layering, modification and repurposing of existing technology.
  • Innovation often means valuing and building on existing tech rather than disrupting it: Existing technologies often underpin and enable technological advances.

About the Author

Historian W. Patrick McCray is the author of The Visioneers: How a Group of Elite Scientists Pursued Space Colonies, Nanotechnologies, and a Limitless Future.

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