Innovation — The value of an idea lies in the use of it

As the proverb rightly says, “Necessity is the mother of invention” ,every time a need arises, we need innovation to come up with a solution. Without the innovation of Thomas Alva Edison we would not have light bulbs today. It has become a part of our everyday life and has utmost importance.

“There’s a way to do it better. Find it.“ — Thomas Edison

There are many people around the globe who come up with innovative ideas every single day. Organizations need this to gain a competitive advantage. The term innovation is not confined to a few fields but applies to every field on earth be it in the IT sector, educational sector or healthcare, the term “innovation” has become an integral part.

Educational sectors and finding ways in which they can improve the student knowledge and training by using innovative ideas. Same applied for every sector that is in operation. Companies conduct competitions where students can showcase their innovation, which they in turn can implement to be a market leader. Everyone is constantly in the search for innovative ideas.

To define the term innovation it is first required to differentiate between data, information, innovation and wisdom. Although innovation is often seen as a richer form of information, this differentiation is not helpful. What we can say here, as Neil Fleming (1996) has also given;

• A collection of data is not information.
• A collection of information is not innovation.
• A collection of innovation is not wisdom.
• A collection of wisdom is not truth.

The idea is that information, innovation & wisdom are more than simply collection. Rather, the whole represents more than the sum of its parts & has a synergy of its own.

“Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.“

- Theodore Levitt

A simple example is of a shirt. An analysis of its molecular contents i.e. cloth, thread & buttons is data. Looking closely over these contents individually we can not even think that it may be a shirt. The end product is a stitched wearable cloth. The method through which a shirt can be stitched is Innovation.

Over the years we can see the evolution of innovation. The stone age man found he could cook food by creating fire from stones. He then made arrows to hunt animals, started carving on stones. It all started thousands of years ago and now we can see the ideas in various forms such as smart phone, smart tv, smart watch every other thing is smart today. We see buildings almost touching the sky. Without innovation we would still be without light or even basic cooked food. Who even imagined we could talk to our phones and they would answer back. You phone sets an alarm or shows you addresses and guides you, it is like a person interacting with you. All these unimaginable things are now possible simply because of “innovation”.

“What we now proved was once only imagined.” — William Blake

Top technological innovations

Artificial Intelligence

According to Forbes 80% are now investing in it or are planning to expand AI investment if they already are.

Internet at the speed of lightning

The appetite for faster and faster internet connection is really pushing the technology forward. Businesses and private users are constantly demanding ever quicker response times and the industry is responding.

This is where 5G be able to change the world as much as our “regular” internet did several decades ago.

Robots

There are robots now that can talk and walk and do basic chores. It’s slowly evolving and one day we may be able to see them casually in every place that we go to.

Swallowable medical devices are on the way

Small devices are currently being developed that can capture images of your guts without the need for anesthetic. They can even be used in infants and children. The endoscopy capsule is one example.

Custom cancer vaccines could be a reality soon

Thanks to scientific developments like the Human Genome Project, personalized medicines and vaccines could be just around the corner. One interesting application for this is the possibility of vaccines.

We also have

• Artificial embryos
• Sensing cities (smart cities)
• 3-D metal printing
• AI for everyone
• Instant foreign language translation
• Genetic fortune-telling
• Big data analytics
• Machine learning
• Cloud computing
• Computer-assisted education

There is so much innovation around us that it cannot be put down into one article.

“Innovation comes from saying NO to 1000 things.“

Steve Jobs

Although accepting failure, having faith, and taking risks are crucial ingredients in innovation, it isn’t all about throwing darts in the dark and seeing what sticks.