Innovation is about finding a better way of doing something. Like many of the new development buzzwords (which many of them are over-used on many business documents), the concept of innovation originates from the world of business. It refers to the generation of new products through the process of creative entrepreneurship, putting it into production, and diffusing it more widely through increased sales. Innovation can be viewed as t he application of better solutions that meet new requirements, in-articulated needs, or existing market needs. This is accomplished through more effective products, processes, services, technologies, or ideas that are readily available to markets, governments and society. The term innovation can be defined as something original and, as a consequence, new, that “breaks into” the market or society.
Innoveracy: Misunderstanding Innovation article points out that there is a form of ignorance which seems to be universal: the inability to understand the concept and role of innovation. The way this is exhibited is in the misuse of the term and the inability to discern the difference between novelty, creation, invention and innovation. The result is a failure to understand the causes of success and failure in business and hence the conditions that lead to economic growth. The definition of innovation is easy to find but it seems to be hard to understand. Here is a simple taxonomy of related activities that put innovation in context:
- Novelty: Something new
- Creation: Something new and valuable
- Invention: Something new, having potential value through utility
- Innovation: Something new and uniquely useful
The taxonomy is illustrated with the following diagram.
The differences are also evident in the mechanisms that exist to protect the works: Novelties are usually not protectable, Creations are protected by copyright or trademark, Inventions can be protected for a limited time through patents (or kept secret) and Innovations can be protected through market competition but are not defensible through legal means.
Innovation is a lot of talked about nowdays as essential to businesses to do. Is innovation essential for development work? article tells that innovation has become central to the way development organisations go about their work. In November 2011, Bill Gates told the G20 that innovation was the key to development. Donors increasingly stress innovation as a key condition for funding, and many civil society organisations emphasise that innovation is central to the work they do.
Some innovation ideas are pretty simple, and some are much more complicated and even sound crazy when heard first. The is place for crazy sounding ideas: venture capitalists are gravely concerned that the tech startups they’re investing in just aren’t crazy enough:
Not all development problems require new solutions, sometimes you just need to use old things in a slightly new way. Development innovations may involve devising technology (such as a nanotech water treatment kit), creating a new approach (such as microfinance), finding a better way of delivering public services (such as one-stop egovernment service centres), identifying ways of working with communities (such as participation), or generating a management technique (such as organisation learning).
Theorists of innovation identify innovation itself as a brief moment of creativity, to be followed by the main routine work of producing and selling the innovation. When it comes to development, things are more complicated. Innovation needs to be viewed as tool, not master. Innovation is a process, not a one time event. Genuine innovation is valuable but rare.
There are many views on the innovation and innvation process. I try to collect together there some views I have found on-line. Hopefully they help you more than confuze. Managing complexity and reducing risk article has this drawing which I think pretty well describes innovation as done in product development:
8 essential practices of successful innovation from The Innovator’s Way shows essential practices in innovation process. Those practices are all integrated into a non-sequential, coherent whole and style in the person of the innovator.
In the IT work there is lots of work where a little thinking can be a source of innovation. Automating IT processes can be a huge time saver or it can fail depending on situation. XKCD comic strip Automation as illustrates this:
System integration is a critical element in project design article has an interesting project cost influence graphic. The recommendation is to involve a system integrator early in project design to help ensure high-quality projects that satisfy project requirements. Of course this article tries to market system integration services, but has also valid points to consider.
Core Contributor Loop (CTTDC) from Art Journal blog posting Blog Is The New Black tries to link inventing an idea to theory of entrepreneurship. It is essential to tune the engine by making improvements in product, marketing, code, design and operations.
4,770 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Suomalaisista luonnonmarjoista löytyi täysin häkellyttävä ominaisuus
Tutkimuslaitos VTT on kehittänyt suihkeen, joka soveltuu sairaalabakteerin eliminoimiseen.
https://www.iltalehti.fi/terveysuutiset/a/6c8494f9-e655-4053-a091-7b1be528f6d1
Ihosuihke pohjautuu nanoselluun ja luonnonmarjojen antimikrobisiin yhdisteisiin.
–Olemme tutkimuksissamme löytäneet antimikrobisia vaikutuksia omaavia yhdisteitä luonnonmarjoista: tyrnistä, mustikasta, mansikasta, lakasta, puolukasta ja vadelmasta. Suuren mittakaavan tuotanto on helpoin toteuttaa vadelmapuristeista. Lähtömateriaalia pitää olla ison mittakaavan tuotantoa varten riittävästi, ja vadelma olisi sen takia paras vaihtoehdoista. Siementen hiominen edellyttää tehtävään perehtyneen yrityksen löytämistä arvoketjuun, kertoo VTT:n vanhempi neuvonantaja, dosentti Kirsi-Marja Oksman-Caldentey tiedotteessa.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The first ever man-made meteor shower. Congratulations, us. https://trib.al/aMwAtTd
Debris From When NASA Smashed Asteroid Appears to Be Headed Back Toward Earth
https://futurism.com/the-byte/debris-asteroid-earth-nasa?fbclid=IwY2xjawE_iwdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHcwnxeJSyuF5JNvUqnTtgwBGU1vyPOeewgVvcVltVu8PofYcNWHKpj5aRQ_aem_lGTAL8LpeebsDr_NudpDtQ
When NASA deliberately smashed the asteroid Dimorphos with the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft back in 2022, it was seen as a technological triumph because it demonstrated that humans have the ability to redirect a space rock that poses a threat to Earth.
That’s all well and good, but it looks like that smashing event also had some unintended consequences: debris from the asteroid may be headed back to Earth in the first ever man-made meteor shower, according to researchers in Spain and Italy.
After performing an in-depth analysis of the impact DART made on Dimorphos and the millions of the resulting fragments, the researchers concluded in a preprint paper that’s been accepted into The Planetary Science Journal that many of the small chunks from the crash will reach Mars and Earth — though importantly, they won’t pose any danger.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Compensatory sleep greatly improves heart health after weekday deprivation. https://link.ie.social/8AhC2d
Tomi Engdahl says:
Common Blood Pressure Drug Extends Lifespan And Slows Aging in Animals
https://www.sciencealert.com/common-blood-pressure-drug-extends-lifespan-and-slows-aging-in-animals
The hypertension drug rilmenidine has been shown to slow down aging in worms, an effect that in humans could hypothetically help us live longer and keep us healthier in our latter years.
“For the first time, we have been able to show in animals that rilmenidine can increase lifespan,” said molecular biogerontologist João Pedro Magalhães, from the University of Birmingham in the UK.
“We are now keen to explore if rilmenidine may have other clinical applications.”
The C. elegans worm is a favorite for studies, because many of its genes have similarities to counterparts in our genome. Yet in spite of these similarities, it is still a rather distant relation to humans.
Tree Kolu says:
Glad to read this.
Tree Kolu says:
This kind of info is recommendable when doing some investment.
Tomi Engdahl says:
‘Misokinesia’ Phenomenon May Affect 1 in 3 People, Research Shows
https://www.sciencealert.com/misokinesia-phenomenon-may-affect-1-in-3-people-research-shows
Called misokinesia – meaning ‘hatred of movements’ – this strange phenomenon had been little studied by scientists until recent years, but was noted in the context of a related condition, misophonia: a disorder where people become irritated upon hearing certain repetitious sounds.
Misokinesia is somewhat similar, but the triggers are generally more visual, rather than sound-related, researchers say.
“[Misokinesia] is defined as a strong negative affective or emotional response to the sight of someone else’s small and repetitive movements, such as seeing someone mindlessly fidgeting with a hand or foot,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
A new type of degenerative brain disease underlying dementia is very common among the oldest old
A study at the University of Helsinki found brain changes associated with a novel degenerative brain disease causing dementia as common as one in every two individuals over the age of 85.
https://www.helsinki.fi/en/news/brain/new-type-degenerative-brain-disease-underlying-dementia-very-common-among-oldest-old?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social_owned&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0BMAABHUldPM82A8vsD5eBT2Umlk45lhDwDED6tHTariJTyO9Xjcuj4nRG5fNkWQ_aem_c0wUvRVUUjRBI-tHn4v8ew&utm_id=6267404139996&utm_content=6651253728196&utm_term=6651253726996&utm_campaign=6267404139996
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2024/09/02/ihmisen-alykkyys-vaikuttaa-tietokoneen-kayttoon-luultua-enemman/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/16544-mit-kivisuola-lupaava-materiaali-akkujen-katodiksi
Tomi Engdahl says:
I learned the language of computer programming in my 50s – here’s what I discovered
A writer with no technical background recounts his incredible journey into the realm of coding and the invaluable lesson it taught him about the modern world
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/aug/31/learning-computer-programming-language-coding-devil-stack-andrew-smith
Tomi Engdahl says:
A person’s intelligence limits their computer proficiency more than previously thought, say researchers
https://techxplore.com/news/2024-09-person-intelligence-limits-proficiency-previously.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.sciencealert.com/a-cracked-piece-of-metal-healed-itself-in-experiment-that-stunned-scientists
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.quantamagazine.org/computer-scientists-prove-that-heat-destroys-entanglement-20240828/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.sciencealert.com/the-y-chromosome-is-slowly-vanishing-a-new-sex-gene-may-be-the-future-of-men
Tomi Engdahl says:
Yahoo News Australia
Man wins $1.6 million for ‘hidden’ invention from the 1980s
Most people have never heard of the IGBT, but it’s quietly had a big impact on the planet.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/man-wins-16-million-for-hidden-invention-from-the-1980s-062635568.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9hcHBsZS5uZXdzLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAAvH8W9Yu1ZtjGkjFW98xoov1UPjxiZOjbPtNDb_c_s9tgzYbSshbbVUmtSoMw_kZBDr1mw3XhJTnhFTeRcLM_efp3Q-JzQ2fyzrbBLq8DqmO-riwqD9Dz_VTLolVcq9g4w3bTyHKonqa8bKJxEUdtaef_s9IpTggYLcejwhMWLH
Professor Bantval Jayant Baliga was handed the 2024 Millennium Technology Prize for inventing the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT). Source: Technology Academy Finland
A man has been awarded a one million Euro (AU$1.65 million) prize for a little-known invention he developed in the 1980s. Although its creator describes the device as “hidden from the eyes of society” it’s used by millions of people around the world because it helps save on electricity and petrol usage.
Professor Bantval Jayant Baliga was handed the 2024 Millennium Technology Prize for inventing the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT). It’s been described as “the most important semi-conductor device” for making engines more efficient and reducing pollution in the last 40 years.
The tiny plastic-coated device regulates the flow of electricity in high-voltage devices, allowing more efficient precise, digital control of power. It is hidden inside most electric motors including consumer products like air conditioners and refrigerators, some light globes, all wind and solar installations, and electric and hybrid cars.
How much pollution has IGBT prevented from entering the atmosphere?
Baliga is credited with having the most negative carbon footprint in the world. His IGBT is estimated to have reduced global emissions of the greenhouse gas by more than 82 gigatons since the 1990s — roughly the same amount of carbon dioxide generated by all human activity for three years.
Tomi Engdahl says:
From the #millenniumtechnologyprize organization
BANTVAL JAYANT BALIGA WINS THE 2024 MILLENNIUM TECHNOLOGY PRIZE FOR REVOLUTIONIZING GLOBAL ELECTRIFICATION
https://millenniumprize.org/
Tomi Engdahl says:
IGBTs are similar to MOSFETs but with some important differences that make them better in high-power low-speed scenarios. https://americas.fujielectric.com/what-is-the-difference-between-an-igbt-and-a-mosfet/
Tomi Engdahl says:
The choice between IGBTs and MOSFETs depends on the specific requirements of the application, including voltage and current levels, switching frequency, and efficiency considerations. Each device has its advantages and is better suited to different types of electronic circuits and systems.
Tomi Engdahl says:
European science prize recognizes breakthrough brain disease research
The Körber European Science Prize honours distinguished researchers in life or physical sciences. Recent winners have unlocked insights that could lead to new therapeutic approaches for Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s disease and more.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d42473-024-00130-2?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_campaign=LSCR_BRCON_AWA1_GL_PCFU_CFULF_KORBER-EU24&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0BMAABHfpx5v0w0rHr0D193AK5u6UtTfnrlbnYoAnqS_Wnycp2F_MRv7QdnJ8cgQ_aem_wm0uOE9bA2GitTzi5pADKQ&utm_id=120210195143670572&utm_content=120210195301410572&utm_term=120210195301430572