A Brief History of Innovation and The Uncertain Future
The link between a word and the innovation.
This post is about a word. A six letter inspiration. It is Nascent.
Somehow, I could relate the meaning to the phenomenon of innovation. A concept explaining the nature of humanity’s progress and the uncertain future created by it. Egg-Chicken situation.
Yesterday — Once upon a time, there was an engineer who invented the steamboat.
Imagine a Portuguese entrepreneur in 1518 heading towards what is now known America. Or better, a group of English biologist sailing away to Australia for a scientific expedition around 1787. The dates are fictive but the period is accurate.
It is the glorious Age of Discovery, a.ka. the colonization period lasted from the beginning of the 15th century until the end of the 18th century.
The everlasting game to conquer terra incognita. Latin for the unknown land. It was commonly used in the Age of Discovery. The entrepreneurs of the Discovery Age raced to uncover more of the knowledge and land.
The innovation spared a great advantage in this game.
The faster the ship, the more the awards of land, gold and glorious future came along.
Short story long, humanity’s advancement was linked to the innovation capacity to unlock the terra incognita.
Such a discovery is still here in metaphorical terms by 2018.
The innovation is a problem-solving approach.
How might we sail far away to discover new places?
Today — We stand on the frontline of the future.
Even though there is not a single piece of land left undiscovered, the human’s heavenly pursuit continues to chase hypothetical continents: to solve the world’s daily problems.
It is all thanks to the fast-paced innovation.
The powerful dedication to solving problems as innovative as possible in creating winds of uncertainty all over the globe.
The innovation is shifting paradigms.
What happens if SpaceX’s spacecraft strategy is succeeded?
Can you imagine the birthplace of your grandchildren? Impossible!
SpaceX’s Mission:
SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets.
Google’s way of innovation
The Moonshot Factory is another obvious example. It showcases Google’s way of innovation. They test and fail prototypes. The new edgy technologies are tired out. It is basically an innovation factory. The focus is on the world’s current problems. To put it more accurately, the focus is the problem, not the super technological solution.
The mission is clear:
“Ever since we started as Google[x] in 2010, X has had a single mission: to invent and launch “moonshot” technologies that we hope could someday make the world a radically better place.”
The big technology giants like Google plays a role in the fast-pace improvement of human lives with innovation.
Tomorrow — not found.
We prototype, fail and improve in today. Everything is in beta mode.*
The world is a big beta toy. It is improved and challenged, constantly. Embracing the ambiguity is the way to survive.
The flow of massive information doesn’t have a break. Such input of knowledge is making boundaries of time vague. Forecasting tomorrow is impossible.
The immense knowledge accumulation is blurring the window reflecting the tomorrow. Thus, innovation is becoming an approach to ask the right question to solve the world’s problems.
It is a walkthrough on a game map, discovering new places. Like yesterday, in the times of the terra incognita.
Here is the word: Nascent. It means just coming into existence and beginning to display signs of future potential *
The human behaviors, mindsets that are believed to be certain…
The products and services that are designed to be here forever…
Actually, they are all nascent. Bearing the seeds of the change.
Blinking to the unknown future.
Because today is nascent, tomorrow is a vague piece of land.
Future Scene: Immortality is at the door
Google’s Venture, Calico Labs. The ultimate case of innovation. Google’s investment in tackling the aging and finally the death.
Can you foresee your position as an individual in a society where death is no longer an issue?
This is how Calico sees the innovation as part of their core values.
“We believe tackling aging and increasing healthspan can only succeed with cutting-edge science and transformative technology and that both are fueled by intellectual freedom and creativity”
Wrap-Up
The world is nascent, it is showing the signs of future, but skipping tomorrow.
Innovation is the main accelerator of the change. The mission of cutting-edge science and transformative technology is here to solve people’s problems.
Bonus: The future of urban transportation
I am in Paris at the moment.
I am curious about the electric scooter's impact on the future of transportation. They are everywhere.
It is worth to take a look at how the service is designed.
