Innovation Excites

Have you ever wanted to make a difference in the world?  Have you ever thought of using your own ideas to invent something that could benefit society?  As said by John F. Kennedy, "A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on."  This quote speaks power because an idea, simple or complicated, it can greatly impact the world around us.  In Where Good Ideas Come From, Johnson explores the reasons, characteristics, and factors that contribute to good ideas being formulated by great minds.  The intellect that goes into creating an idea is fascinating.  For example, Steve Jobs didn't start at the top, but started in his garage with one good idea, the apple computer in which him and several others created a model prototype computer that gave way for the apple company.  With one good idea, it brought many positive occurrences in Jobs' life and because of his thinking and audacity to bring his idea to life, it greatly affected technology today.  Johnson goes in depth on how there are causes that lead to innovative ideas being pieced together.  With each chapter, we discover a property that Johnson believes effects innovation from pre-historic to modern day.  Several properties include the Adjacent Possible which is when an idea is already built upon what is already known.  Another would be the Slow Hunch, which is a reoccurring idea that should be revisited.  Finally, the property of Serendipity, in which new realizations are facilitated by new environments which give ways to other great ideas.  The level of work that was put into the book makes me really wonder how every individual thing in our environment was made.  The work that was put into making the things we use in everyday life is beyond me.  From the beginning, the book has gripped my attention and I cannot put it down.  Have you ever wondered where and how the simplest of things were invented?  An individual toaster, a microwave, a fan, even an electric toothbrush.  I think new ideas could really change the world we live in today, not that there is anything wrong with it, but the fact that we will keep moving forward.  I also firmly believe that kids should be encouraged to create their own ideas because it only takes one idea, no matter how small.  Do you also believe that kids should be encouraged to think of fresh ideas?  Have you ever wanted to become an innovator?  It only takes one good idea.  Two steps froward one step back, all and all we will continue moving forward.