The End of Innovation
Reflect on this presentation and compare and
contrast it to your experience and the readings from this module.
Robert
Gordon took a surprising position on US economic growth in his video
presentation, The Death of Innovation,
the End of Growth. He argues that
the best advancements are behind us. Electricity,
indoor plumbing, transportation he adds, are all innovations that created significant
growth but they have matured and now growth is declining. There is nothing else left to innovate powerful
enough to bring growth back and counter the headwinds of demographics,
education, debt, and inequality. Future innovation
would be unable to reverse the growth problems of today and the future (Gordon,
2013). Aside from my opinion that Gordon’s
presentation was leading and poorly supported, I believe his position is myopic
at best.
My experience is that humans are, in general, curious,
imaginative, forward thinking, creative and tenacious in their quest for
scientific discovery, medical breakthroughs, technological advancement, and new
“things” in general. I have never
experienced the wide-spread defeatist attitude that Gordon seems to imply
through omission. Mckeown (2014) teaches
us that “the history of innovation is essentially the history of practical
creative problem-solving which is - pretty much – the history of what it means
to be human. Our curiosity drives us to explore. Our desire drives us to improve” (p. xxvii). The human spirit should never be discounted
or underestimated.
In your
opinion, what fallacies do you see in this presentation? Can you match what we
have achieved?
The premise of Gordon’s entire presentation is the fallacy. My interpretation of Gordon’s premise is:
Economic
growth is ending and it is a result of the death of innovation. Innovation is dying because all of the
powerful innovations have already occurred.
There is nothing left that could possibly be as powerful as the
innovations of the last 150 years. Economic
growth has slowed since 2007 and appears to have stagnated. There must not be any more powerful innovations
possible.
The premise is actually a faulty deduction (Jones, n. d.). Robert Gordon does not believe that
innovations of the future can match the power of innovations past. While I agree that electricity and indoor
plumbing were powerful innovations that truly changed the world, I am not so naïve
to believe tomorrow cannot bring something even bigger. Before electricity emerged as the latest
innovation the vast majority of humans could not even conceive its possibility. Creativity takes the innovator beyond what is
possible. They can see what others do
not see (Mckeown, 2014, p. 11). Mr. Gordon
is not an innovator.
Mr. Gordon’s idea of powerful innovation is based on what he
knows from past innovations. It is easy
to apply these ideas, generally, to all innovations. The problem is ‘electricity lit up the world’ is
now default for current powerful innovations.
And while it is powerful, not every innovation fits that mold. With the mind focused on old ideas, new
powerful ideas will slip by unnoticed.
Or worse, thought not to exist at all.
Letting go of old ideas about innovation may help Gordon understand that
new ideas exist and solutions are possible (Mckeown, 2014, p. 24).
Gordon issued a challenge on behalf of the innovators of the
last 150 years. Can you match what we
have achieved? My answer is no. Innovation does not seek to match or get one
up on the last innovation. Nothing can
beat electricity or indoor plumbing in terms of importance. Innovation improves or expands ideas that
exist or introduces what has never been thought of before. It is the newness of an idea fresh out of the
creative mind that becomes an obsession for the innovator. The obsession will not end until the idea
becomes a reality (Mckeown, 2014). If
Gordon could return the past innovators to the stage, I am positive each one of
them would confirm this to be true.
Are there ideas yet to surface that can provide economic and
personal benefits similar to those of the past 150 years? Absolutely.
What they are and where they will come from are unknown, even to the one
who will think of them for the very first time.
Innovation is not dead or even dying for that matter. It is inventing life’s little conveniences. It is giving us things we did not know we
needed. It is taking businesses to new
levels of success. Innovation is alive
and well in the creative minds of people all over the world.
~Pete
References:
Gordon, R. (2013). The death of innovation, the end of growth
[Video file]. TED Talks, 2013, April 23.
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYHd7rpOTe8.
Jones, S. (n. d.). Types of faulty logic (Fallacies). Retrieved
from http://jonesclassesonline.weebly.com/uploads/2/7/3/4/2734694/faulty_logic.pdf
Mckeown, M.
(2014). The Innovation Book: How to Manage Ideas and
Execution for Outstanding Results. UK: Pearson Education Limited.
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