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.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Playing with the music of the brain
Common neurological disorders like depression and chronic pain can be challenging to treat with conventional methods. An automated version of a long-used brain stimulation technique holds real promise as a reliable and effective drug-free alternative.
https://www.aalto.fi/en/news/playing-with-the-music-of-the-brain
Tomi Engdahl says:
Scientists have discovered a sixth basic taste detected by the tongue
‘If you live in a Scandinavian country, you will be familiar with and may like this taste’
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/tongue-sixth-taste-discovered-b2425714.html#Echobox=1696568478
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cryo–electron microscopy breaks the atomic resolution barrier at last
Improvements help the technique rival x-ray crystallography
https://www.science.org/content/article/cryo-electron-microscopy-breaks-atomic-resolution-barrier-last
If you want to map the tiniest parts of a protein, you only have a few options: You can coax millions of individual protein molecules to align into crystals and analyze them using x-ray crystallography. Or you can flash-freeze copies of the protein and bombard them with electrons, a lower resolution method called cryo–electron microscopy (cryo-EM). Now, for the first time, scientists have sharpened cryo-EM’s resolution to the atomic level, allowing them to pinpoint the positions of individual atoms in a variety of proteins at a resolution that rivals x-ray crystallography’s.
Tomi Engdahl says:
If the first solar entrepreneur hadn’t been kidnapped, would fossil fuels have dominated the 20th century?
https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-solar-entrepreneur-hadnt-kidnapped-fossil.html#google_vignette
Cove’s company, Sun Electric Generator Corporation, based in New York, was capitalized at US$5 million (around US$160 million in today’s money). By 1909, the idea had gained widespread media attention. Modern Electric magazine highlighted how “given two days’ sun… [the device] will store sufficient electrical energy to light an ordinary house for a week.”
It noted how cheap solar energy could liberate people from poverty, “bringing them cheap light, heat and power, and freeing the multitude from the constant struggle for bread.” The piece went on to speculate how even airplanes could be powered by batteries charged by the sun. A clean energy future seemed to be there for the taking.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-married-bachelor-proves-that-unicorns-exist/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/10/28/impostor-syndrome-its-not-your-fault/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Azad Madni, a professor at the University of Southern California, created simulation software to transform how systems engineering is taught. The IEEE Life Fellow’s Transdisciplinary Systems Engineering Education paradigm teaches topics through storytelling and role-playing techniques, allowing students to apply their engineering lessons to real-world situations. For this and other pioneering technology, Madni received this year’s IEEE Simon Ramo Medal.
USC Professor’s Simulation Software Teaches Systems Engineering Topics The program uses storytelling techniques and role-playing
https://spectrum.ieee.org/usc-professor-azad-madni?share_id=7956653&socialux=facebook&utm_campaign=RebelMouse&utm_content=IEEE+Spectrum&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3FOB_V3ib76fyenFn9FJ98KtmuymVejIcNxzLfJ-3leyy_Z5-cTLFp4M0
Azad M. Madni spent some 40 years working on artificial intelligence and simulation technologies that allowed U.S. soldiers to safely train for combat operations in virtual worlds. Now Madni—a professor of astronautics, aerospace, and mechanical engineering at the University of Southern California—is working to transform engineering education. But he hasn’t abandoned the world of simulation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tutkijoiden havainto voi estää kilojen kertymistä laihdutuksen jälkeen
Saksalaiset ja yhdysvaltalaiset tutkijat tekivät hiirikokeissa havainnon, jonka avulla voidaan kenties estää painon jojoilua.
https://tieku.fi/ihminen/tutkijoiden-havainto-voi-estaa-kilojen-kertymista-laihdutuksen-jalkeen
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://tieku.fi/ihminen/tutkijoiden-havainto-voi-estaa-kilojen-kertymista-laihdutuksen-jalkeen
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-12714869/Saturns-rings-DISAPPEAR-2025-NASA-confirms.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.mic.com/articles/125829/your-old-texas-instruments-graphing-calculator-still-costs-a-fortune-heres-why
Tomi Engdahl says:
NEUROSCIENTIST SAYS WE DON’T HAVE FREE WILL AFTER ALL
“WE’VE GOT NO FREE WILL. STOP ATTRIBUTING STUFF TO US THAT ISN’T THERE.”
https://futurism.com/neoscope/scientist-no-free-will
Tomi Engdahl says:
UCLA Researchers Show Off a “Transistor for Heat” Capable of Switching a Million Times Per Second
Like traditional electronic transistors, the “thermal transistor” can be switched on and off — but to control the flow of heat.
https://www.hackster.io/news/ucla-researchers-show-off-a-transistor-for-heat-capable-of-switching-a-million-times-per-second-ada74b3c059e
Tomi Engdahl says:
“a one-ounce sampling of cultivated chicken”
Cultivated meat, also called cultured or lab-grown meat, is meat made using animal cells—but not animals themselves. Upside Foods, along with another US-based company called Good Meat, got the green light from regulators earlier this year to begin selling cultivated chicken products to consumers.
“Inside the gold-detailed ceramic container, on a bed of flower petals, rested a small black plate cradling two bits of chicken. Each was coated with a dark crust (a recado negro tempura, I later learned) and topped with edible flowers and leaves.”
https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/11/09/1083139/lab-grown-chicken/?fbclid=IwAR3cAo6G3VTkFxWGBY-FncmuUSgDQD_WtlUplDFFALmDe6Bjr1LEhiv4zlw
Tomi Engdahl says:
Revolution In Biology: Half-Synthetic Yeast Genome Unveils New Horizons In Genetic Engineering
It’s part of a project aiming to build the first synthetic eukaryotic genome.
https://www.iflscience.com/revolution-in-biology-half-synthetic-yeast-genome-unveils-new-horizons-in-genetic-engineering-71510
Tomi Engdahl says:
Stanford study finds walking improves creativity
https://news.stanford.edu/2014/04/24/walking-vs-sitting-042414/
Stanford researchers found that walking boosts creative inspiration. They examined creativity levels of people while they walked versus while they sat. A person’s creative output increased by an average of 60 percent when walking
Tomi Engdahl says:
Another room-temperature superconductor bites the dust
https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/07/room-temperature-superconductor-false-claims/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why scientists used these radio transmitters to create artificial auroras
Sending radio pulses into the upper atmosphere can create splotches of red and green light.
https://www.popsci.com/technology/haarp-artificial-aurora/
Tomi Engdahl says:
How We Know The Moon Landings Weren’t Faked
The conspiracy theory the Moon landings were faked won’t die, but the evidence against it is overwhelming from many different directions
https://www.iflscience.com/how-we-know-the-moon-landings-werent-faked-68310
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://singularityhub.com/2023/11/06/a-revolution-in-computer-graphics-is-bringing-3d-reality-capture-to-the-masses/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Maapallon sisältä löytyi kahden mantereen suuruinen kappale toista planeettaa
Varhaiseen maapalloon törmäsi tutkimusten mukaan toinen planeetta 4,5 miljardia vuotta sitten. Törmäyksen seurauksena syntyi myös kuu.
https://yle.fi/a/74-20059505
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sealed in glass — Microsoft’s Project Silica | an attempt to create a digital medium that lasts longer than 20 years without having to sustain an infrastructure to recopy the whole data every 10 years [https://youtu.be/w0ESCnzq74w?si=ZjmIYD0SrUDFu21P](https://youtu.be/w0ESCnzq74w?si=ZjmIYD0SrUDFu21P)
Tomi Engdahl says:
The flavor is “simultaneously fascinating and… abusive.”
Ammonium chloride tastes like nothing else. It may be the sixth basic taste
The flavor is “simultaneously fascinating and… abusive.”
https://bigthink.com/health/ammonium-chloride-sixth-basic-taste/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR0enzFOJ2udNSQ0J076f9vGQNGZGt3W8ANau1j2URuxdK77yQpobU__kqI#Echobox=1699655521
Tomi Engdahl says:
Do Not Be So Open-Minded That Your Brains Fall Out
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/04/13/open-mind/?amp=1&fbclid=IwAR3XOZJVviqNaqvkdlqRbWRK_xiBNfTggeQ0AbmgoIOQRsUBYqiVHFg36Q4
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tutkimus: Supernovaräjähdys ”tuhosi” Maan ilmakehän otsonikerrosta muutaman minuutin ajan vuonna 2022
https://tekniikanmaailma.fi/tutkimus-supernovan-rajahdys-tuhosi-maan-ilmakehan-otsonikerrosta-muutaman-minuutin-ajaksi-vuonna-2022/
Maapallolle osui viime vuonna niin voimakas supernovan seurauksena syntynyt gammapurkaus, että se ”tuhosi” Maan otsonikerrosta lyhyen aikaa, kerrotaan tiistaina ilmestyneessä tutkimuksessa.
Aiheesta kertovat muiden muassa The New York Times sekä AFP.
A Supernova ‘Destroyed’ Some of Earth’s Ozone for a Few Minutes in 2022
A new study suggests that explosive events in space have the potential to temporarily switch off the natural shield that protects us from harmful solar radiation.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/14/science/gamma-ray-burst-ozone-depletion.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Futurist Predicts Human Immortality Will Be Achievable By 2030
Kurzweil has a track record of getting his predictions right.
https://www.iflscience.com/futurist-predicts-human-immortality-will-be-achievable-by-2030-71005
Tomi Engdahl says:
The tech graveyard: 6 fantastic failures whose ghosts still haunt us today
Features
By Becky Scarrott published October 28, 2023
HD DVD, you don’t scare me!
https://www.techradar.com/audio/the-tech-graveyard-6-fantastic-failures-whose-ghosts-still-haunt-us-today
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://tekniikanmaailma.fi/tutkimus-vahvistaa-darth-sidious-oli-oikeassa/
Jo kaukaisessa galaksissa kauan sitten se tiedettiin, että vihaa kanavoimalla voi saada aikaan paljon. Tai kuten Darth Sidious opasti nuorta Luke Skywalkeria: ”Käytä aggressiivisia tunteitasi, poika. Anna vihan virrata lävitsesi.”
Ja nyt sith-lordin neuvot on vahvistettu myös tässä galaksissa, tarkemmin ottaen Texas A&M -yliopistossa, jonka tutkijat tarkastelivat tunnetilojen vaikutusta suoriutumiseen erilaisissa tehtävissä. Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin yli tuhatta vapaaehtoista, ja sen tulokset on julkaistu Journal of Personality and Social Psychology -tiedelehdessä.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sci-fi inspired tractor beams are real, and could solve a major space junk problem
News
By Harry Baker published October 29, 2023
Researchers are developing a real-life tractor beam, with the goal of pulling defunct satellites out of geostationary orbit to alleviate the space junk problem
https://www.livescience.com/space/space-exploration/sci-fi-inspired-tractor-beams-are-real-and-could-solve-the-major-problem-of-space-junk
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kankaanpään hiekka-akku on vuoden innovaatio – keksintö toi BBC:n kuvausryhmänkin Pohjois-Satakuntaan
Hiekka-akku on noin seitsemän metriä korkea ja neljä metriä leveä terässäiliö, jossa on noin sata tonnia hiekkaa.
https://yle.fi/a/74-20057818
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.wikiwand.com/fi/S%C3%A4hk%C3%B6polttoaine
Tomi Engdahl says:
100 vuotta radiota
https://yle.fi/a/74-20043316
Ihmeellistä, ääni lentää halki ilmojen! Soivan ja puhuvan ihmelaitteen radion lähetykset alkoivat Tampereella ensimmäisenä koko Suomessa. Sata vuotta myöhemmin lähetykset kaupungista jatkuvat.
Tällä huhuilulla alkoi Tampereen Radion ohjelma sata vuotta sitten.
Huhuilija oli insinööri Arvi Hauvonen, ja 3NB oli hänen radioamatööritunnuksensa. Hauvonen oli innokas radioamatööri, joka aloitti radion säännölliset puhelähetykset Tampereen keskustasta 1. marraskuuta 1923.
Sadassa vuodessa lähetys ei ole katkennut vaikka tekijät, sisältö, tekniikka ja radiolaitteet ovat vaihtuneet moneen kertaan.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Future of Fully Homomorphic Encryption NYU Tandon researchers are developing specialized hardware accelerators for enabling computation on encrypted data
https://spectrum.ieee.org/fully-homomorphic-encryption
Tomi Engdahl says:
Optical fiber–based, single-photon light source at room temperature for next-generation quantum processing
https://phys.org/news/2023-11-optical-fiberbased-single-photon-source-room.html#google_vignette
Tomi Engdahl says:
Maata pommittaa toistuvasti 25 outoa radiopurkausta
Tutkijat yrittävät löytää kaukaa avaruudesta tulevien toistuvien radioaaltopurkausten lähteen.
https://tieku.fi/maailmankaikkeus/maata-pommittaa-toistuvasti-25-outoa-radiopurkausta
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mitä vinyyli- ja pienpanimo-olutharrastus kertovat meistä?
https://olutposti.fi/mita-vinyyli-ja-pienpanimo-olutharrastus-kertovat-meista/
Keräily on meille luonnollista, olemmehan alkujaan metsästäjä-keräilijäkansaa. Moni alkaa keräillä puolivahingossa; esine tai ilmiö kiinnostaa ja siihen uppoutuu yhä enemmän, kunnes vapaa-aika kuluukin keräilyharrastuksen parissa.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sivistysideaali vaatii uudelleentarkastelua
https://www.tieteessatapahtuu.fi/numerot/4-2023/sivistysideaali-vaatii-uudelleentarkastelua
Maailmassa on monenlaista pahoinvointia ja epätasa-arvoa, eikä aikamme viheliäisiä ongelmia olla onnistuttu ratkaisemaan. Olisi aika synnyttää uusi sivistysideaali, mutta se edellyttää, että ymmärrämme, mitkä ovat uuden ajan reunaehdot. Kutsumme kaikki mukaan keskusteluun.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pythagorean Theorem Found On Clay Tablet 1,000 Years Older Than Pythagoras
It predates Pythagoras by over 1,000 years.
https://www.iflscience.com/pythagorean-theorem-found-on-clay-tablet-1000-years-older-than-pythagoras-70934
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.iflscience.com/lasers-deflected-using-only-air-for-first-time-ever-71000
Tomi Engdahl says:
Britain’s Iconic Brown Betty Teapot Gets a Redesign
A new version of the humble teapot reintroduces features from the past.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/brown-betty
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nämä kolme rauennutta patenttia ovat muuttaneet polkupyörien tekniikkaa – Patenttien raukeaminen on kuluttajalle hyvä asia
https://tekniikanmaailma.fi/nama-kolme-rauennutta-patenttia-ovat-muuttaneet-polkupyorien-tekniikkaa-patenttien-raukeaminen-on-kuluttajalle-hyva-asia/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/11/this-inside-out-design-solves-most-of-the-rotary-engines-problems/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Computer Scientists Break Traveling Salesperson Record
By
ERICA KLARREICH
October 8, 2020
After 44 years, there’s finally a better way to find approximate solutions to the notoriously difficult traveling salesperson problem.
https://www.quantamagazine.org/computer-scientists-break-traveling-salesperson-record-20201008/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ihminen ei kestä jatkuvaa kriisitilaa – psykologi Juho Mertanen neuvoo, miten pitää mielenterveydestä huolta maailman palaessa
Huonojen uutisten tulvan keskellä tarvitsemme myös hallinnan tunnetta ja hengähdyshetkiä.
https://yle.fi/a/74-20055450
– Jatkuva ylivireystila ja uhkia tarkkaileva tila kuluttaa. Me jaksamme kyllä stressata ja olla uutisista tietoisia, mutta kertyneen kuormituksen pitäisi aina välillä antaa purkautua, Mertanen sanoo.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.prosoundweb.com/aes-publishes-aes75-2023-standard-for-acoustics-update-launches-online-resources/
Tomi Engdahl says:
When An Essential Substance Used In Chemistry Turned Out Not To Exist
It was used in chemistry for decades. The only problem is it doesn’t exist.
https://www.iflscience.com/when-an-essential-substance-used-in-chemistry-turned-out-not-to-exist-71290
In 2018, a team of researchers attempting to investigate the use of sulfide solutions to reduce mercury emissions from alumina refineries made another, bigger discovery: an ion once considered an essential part of chemistry calculations simply does not exist.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.techexplorist.com/high-speed-electrical-readout-method-graphene-nanodevices/76016/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://futurism.com/professor-claims-electrons-quarks-experience-consciousness
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why a Computer History Museum Owns a Legendary Teapot
For computer-graphics researchers, it’s both a tool and a meme.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/utah-teapot?utm_medium=gastro-page&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR2PflcD1_OXy3XNoGiGQWhEs3gRQy_kqBOMxqrxnD6bd5OYa69MOVUiQ-A
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://futurism.com/neoscope/clever-trick-cancer-cells-self-destruct