Robert Gordon starts off his presentation by suggesting that the
economic growth may be over (Gordon, R.,
2013). He backs this theory up by
explaining that most of the major innovation that has been made in the last 8
centuries has grown at only 2.0 percent per
year from 1891 to 2007.
He also predicts that growth will continue to drop. Part of the reason for this is what he
identifies as four major headwinds which are demographics, education, debt and
inequality. Generally speaking, these
headwinds are hindering the innovation growth in the U.S. In order for there to be growth, our
inventions need to be as important as the ones that occurred over the last 150
years of our history. He explains that
the inventions of today are not as useful or important as the inventions of the
last 150 years. He gives us a choice and
asks us to choose between option A and option B. Option A means we get to keep the inventions
that were created up to ten years ago which includes things such as indoor
plumbing, google, electricity or we choose Option B which means we get to keep
everything that has been invented in the last 10 years such as iPhones and Facebook
but have to give up the necessities such as indoor plumbing and
electricity. This comparison he makes on
the disparity of innovation is a true eye-opener and makes one realize how true
innovation has slowed down. He argues that
we cannot match the innovations that we have achieved in the last 150 years. I think that what stands out in the
innovations of the past (up to 10 years ago) is that the inventors and creative
thinkers of the past were true mavericks. McKeown (2014) states “the creative maverick
is ready to sacrifice short-term gains for longer-term gains for the good of
other people. This willingness to abandon the old comforts for new wonders leads
to breakthrough innovations” (Part 3, Section 1). Could it be that the inventors of yesterday
were more invested in breaking out of the conformities of society? Were they willing to take the risks that today’s
inventors hold back on? I believe that
yesterday’s inventors were true risk-takers because the need for change and the
need for these inventions were greater than the need for the inventions of
today. McKeown tells us “one powerful
way of inspiring innovation is to focus attention on usefulness” (2014, Part 3,
Section 1). The usefulness of our past
inventions exceeded by leaps and bounds the usefulness of today’s inventions. McKeown explains:
“Over time, increases in any particular way of
doing things will diminish. You can make small improvements but big
improvements are no longer possible. The only way of making big new
improvements is to jump onto a new innovation curve by investing creativity in
new possibilities” (Part 3, Section 1).
I would have to agree that inventors today must make great strides
to invent something new and in the last decade what we have perfected is the
art of modifications. We no longer
create new ideas but instead improve on those ideas that already exist.
References
Gordon, R. (2013, February). The death of innovation, the end of
growth
[Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.ted.com/talks/robert_gordon_the_death_of_innovation_the_end_of_growth?language=en
McKeown, M. (2014). The innovation book [Kindle Version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com
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