Ramsey8 reviews 1. The Adjacent Possible- contrary to popular belief innovation seldom changes the game completely by creating something incredibly advanced. More often, innovation unlocks a realm of the adjacent possible (That which can be achieved given the components that are already in existence). Ex: in the primordial soup of Earth pre-life, amino acids could be formed spontaneously through random collisions of atoms and functional groups. It would've been impossible for a functional cell to be formed then because the number of fortuitous collisions would've been staggering. Cells could be formed once their simpler components were present in the environment. Innovation takes simple components and makes slightly more complex products in a continuous cycle. 2. Liquid Networks- Because the adjacent possible is unlocked through random collissions in components, it makes sense that innovation would thrive in so-called "liquid environments" in which component ideas are able to flow freely. Cities are such liquid environments. The internet is the ultimate liquid environment. Offices are trying to become more liquid environments thorugh encouraging collaboration. 3. Slow Hunch- The narrative of the "Eureka moment" is seldom accurate. More often than not innovation occurs once a slow hunch has reached maturity. Slow hunches can reach maturity by colliding with other ideas. hus, keeping one's slow hunches alive is advisable to promote innovation. Keeping a commonplace book is an excellent way to cultivate and keep alive a slow hunch. Innovation is also promoted by cross-polination between different fields. Many famous scientists and thinkers have switched what they are spending their time on every couple of days. This puts the original thought in one's sub conscious. 4. Serendipity is obviously important to innovation because with increased serendipity comes increased collisions between slow hunches. Information overflow encourages creativity. The internet promotes the ultimate information overflow. 5. Error- "Being right keeps you in place. Being wrong forces you to explore." Sometimes the noise is the signal, humans have a natural tendency to dismiss error. Our body maintains some error in DNA replication to continue the evolutionary drive (whether this is by evolutionary design or by the inability for a perfect system is unknown). 6. Exaptation- Taking an idea or thing from one field and applying it to another field. Gutenberg with the screw press. In dense urban centers exaptations are more likely. Weak-tie expatation. Utilizing the weak-tie of Connectors to exapt ideas. Apple development cycle is more like a coffehouse than an assembly line; Everyone plans it all together instead of designers followed by other people. In the latter method there is a tendrency for the thing to be whittled down. 7. Platforms - Ecosystem engineers. Generative platforms come in stacks. Platforms encourage and amplify hunches. Twitter's open-source software allows different people to run twitter machines which increases popularity. Hashtags and @ also came from early twitter users because of the platform. API=open platform in software 8. The Fourth Quadrant (non-market, networked) has provided a proportionally high amount of innovation.The problem with Quadrant One(market, networked) is that it encourages us to build artificial walls (patents etc.) around information. When information flows free everyone benefits
