Let's Innovate!!

 

Innovation does not always occur due to well-developed and engineered plans but rather at times occurs due to accident or just plain luck.  According to Digintent (n.d.) innovation is a novel way of solving a problem and adds value.  For this post we are going to focus on innovation through serendipity, errors, and exaptation.

Innovation through serendipity can be defined as a discovery that was not planned but occurred (Scofield & Hedge, 2011).  The modern-day microwave oven is one such serendipity innovation.  The first commercial microwave oven became available in 1947 and was known as a radarange (Blitz, 2021).  The technology was actually developed for use by the military for their radar system but in 1945 Percy Spencer realized that the microwave beam melted a chocolate bar in his shirt pocket.  He later went on to pop popcorn and cook an egg.  The innovation of the microwave oven was purely serendipity or awesome luck.

Innovation via an error is when a mistake is made and yet something valuable is developed through that error.  The pacemaker is one such innovation.  The pacemaker was invented due to an error made by Dr. Wilson Greatbatch.  He was working on a heart rhythm recorder when he by error added an incorrect electronic component (Intellectual Ventures, 2016).  Rather than recording the sound of a heartbeat the device made the sound of a healthy heartbeat.  Dr. Greatbatch continued to perfect his device and in 1960 the first pacemaker was implanted into a human.

An innovation by exaptation is essentially finding a new use for something that exists.  An example of this could be the corn flake.  Dr. Kellogg first developed a breakfast food that was comprised of flour, oats, and cornmeal.  He would make biscuits out of this dough.  Dr. Kellogg later found that he could roll this dough out flat and cut into pieces.  Once these pieces of dough were baked in the oven, they became crispy and flavorful.  This innovation could also be considered one made by error as he had left his dough out overnight which drove him to roll it out rather than make his normal biscuits.

Some of the greatest innovations are not derived out of carefully defined plan but rather many of them occur due to serendipity, errors, and exaptation.  All of us have the ability to play an innovative role if we are observant and remain curious.  There is still a lot of opportunity for innovation.

References

Blitz, M. (2021, September 2). The amazing true story of how the microwave was invented by accident. https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a19567/how-the-microwave-was-invented-by-accident/

Digintent. (n.d.). What is innovation:  Why almost everyone defines it wrong. https://digintent.com/what-is-innovation/

Intellectual Ventures. (2016, November 8). The heartbeat of invention: How pacemaker creator Wilson greatbatch saved countless lives. https://www.intellectualventures.com/buzz/insights/the-heartbeat-of-invention-how-pacemaker-creator-wilson-greatbatch-saved-co/

Scofield, D. M. & Hedges, K. (2011, August 23). Serendipitous innovation. https://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2011/08/23/serendipitous-innovation/