[the innovation observer]
[summary]
I examine instances, both in history and in contemporary business, where patterns, cycles, or traditions were broken through novel policy, inventions, technology, management, ways of reasoning, or entrepreneurship. Not all instances of innovation have been productive or beneficial, and it is my goal to understand what enables productive innovation and growth.
[details]
Innovation as an academic discipline does not fit squarely into traditional fields of thought — while innovation from an economic perspective concerns itself with questions of “what drives economic growth?” or “how do we explain differences in development between two countries?", innovation from an engineering perspective concerns itself with a different problem space, including questions of “how do I solve this particular technical gap?” or “what kind of solution addresses this individual’s needs?” Similarly, cognitive science, philosophy, statistics, education, finance, sociology and public policy, as well as the more esoteric studies such as praxeology and epistemology, also share interest in studying the discipline of innovation. This diversity of perspectives makes for a highly dynamic yet opaque field.
Within the study of innovation, there are micro-level views, concerned with problems that face individuals, teams, projects, or firms: how to foster creativity, how to structure effective ideation, or how to develop innovative solutions, are all problems that fit within the micro-level remit. But there are macro-level views, concerned with how regions, industries, and communities foster innovation and reap benefits in terms of increases standard of living, opportunity, and equity: how to incentivize entrepreneurship, how to structure education policies for fostering creative & innovative talent, and how to mitigate industry-wide frontier risk through financial markets are all questions that fit within a macro-level perspective of innovation.
These articles are meant to touch upon innovation from a myriad lenses, and hopefully explore some of the more easily observable cause-and-effect relationships within the field. By grounding some of the more obfuscated theoretical and academic ideas in concrete observations, I hope to gain and share a better understanding of how innovation works at both the micro- and macro- levels.
[what to expect]
Innovation is a broad field, and I aim to stretch that field even further. As such, I will write on a broad swathe of topics ranging including development, global macro policy, education, management, product, technology, and data. Any field with open questions and challenges that concern societal welfare, in my view, is fair game for falling under the remit of “observing innovation.” I am also open to investigating new ideas through the lens of innovation theory, or combining novel approaches to thinking about ongoing challenges, so if you have any questions that you’d like me to consider or explore, please don’t hesitate to drop me a note.
