We’ve talked previously about the Internet of Things and how it predicts the increasing interconnectedness of our gadgets. Think: alarm clocks turning on your coffee pots. Think: outdoor thermometers activating heated sidewalks.
Recently, the guy who coined the phrase – Kevin Ashton – recently had a brief Q&A that addressed a few of the topics covered in his new book, How to Fly a Horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery. It was a short, hodge-podge of questions, but Ashton had some interesting things to say, nonetheless.
Innovation isn’t anything special
He put forth one idea that was particularly interesting. “Almost all myths about creating as a kind of magic,” he remarked, “are the products of 19th- and early 20th-century prejudices.” He went on to suggest that in its long history, innovation was never seen as a specific end worthy of an individual’s pursuit.
“For most of history, creation was seen as a consequence of common people doing ordinary work,” Ashton insists. “Creators were not even memorialized.”
How did we get here from there?
Nowadays, innovation as touted as the great savior for every business out there. The innovation industries, the thinking goes, are the only ones that thrive. What happened between “most of history” and 2015, when new smartphones come out monthly and every car commercial showcases a new feature you’ve never heard of?
As it turns out, two major things happened.
Industrial Revolution
The decades between approximately 1760 and 1830 marked a fast transition from man- and animal-power to machine power. Humans harnessed the power of steam, water, coal, and iron to speed up manufacturing and travel.
Every aspect of the layman’s life changed. The cost of goods went down and the quality of life went up.
One other thing that changed was the way that businesses operated. The factories that suddenly became commonplace needed lots of nameless workers to get the work done. No longer were businesses comprised of a handful of employees. Instead of lots of little businesses, there moved a trend towards fewer, bigger businesses. The men at the top became special. Theirs became household names. For the first time, “regular” people could get rich quickly.
If you exclude government and military characters, the Industrial Revolution was the dawn of the celebrated individual.
Information
Even during the early days of the Industrial Revolution, most innovation was the byproduct of spotting inefficiencies. It resulted from lots of people doing lots of things together. It was no different than it had been in all of history. Even the revolution itself happened on the backs of hundreds (or thousands) or different men and women.
In the past two hundred years, however, information has become more accessible than ever. Using books, video, and now the internet, a single person can learn things about a good, process, or business philosophy that were previously only knowable through the collected knowledge of many. In short, information has made the innovation of an individual a practical feat.
Sure, they’re still drawing on the knowledge of others, but it’s different. The game-changing idea can develop in a single mind.
Romanticizing the individual
Although Kevin Ashton is likely correct when he says that innovation was likely a slow, boring process that was a natural byproduct of life, his implication that the praise heaped on today’s creators is misplaced might be off-track.
After all, when one man can do what it once took 1,000 to do, it’s worth considering that that man is special – even if he has more tools.