7.04.2012

Introduction

Innovation's impact is not linear, meaning that an invention will impact more than what it was created for. Rather than a series of singular events, innovation is an ecology unto itself. The complexity of which has made our relationship to it akin to our relationship with the weather.

The factors that go into the formation of weather patterns are so complex it is difficult to predict how an action will  impact the greater whole. In popular culture, this has become known as the butterfly effect – where the flapping of butterfly wings in the Amazon can help cause a storm in New York .
Yet, we depend on our ability to predict the weather to keep us alive. We have many systems in place to forecast weather, but our direct control over it is limited. The best that we can do is prepare for it.

The same can be said for innovation. We depend on it every day, but have limited control over how it is implemented and its eventual impact. Yet, we are able to prepare for how to best use it. In order to do this the first thing is to accept that it is not linear, that any innovation always impacts more than its original intention.

An example of this could be something as one-dimensional as the can opener. There are variations, but basically a can opener does one thing - it opens a can. A can opener does not alter governments. It does not cure hunger. It does one thing, but this one thing has made the distribution of food easier. And anything making the distribution of food easier does impact global hunger and the make up of governments.

Once we accept the interplay in innovation then we can assume that, like the weather, it is an interdependent (ecological) system. The only difference being that instead of a butterfly's wing flap, it might be a small modification to an smart phone app that changes everything  - even if it was only made to predict the weather.