Where Good Ideas Come From
Steven Johnson
Oct 2010 · Penguin
4.1star
20 reviews
Ebook
336
Pages
About this ebook
A fascinating deep dive on innovation from the New York Times bestselling author of How We Got To Now and Unexpected Life
The printing press, the pencil, the flush toilet, the battery--these are all great ideas. But where do they come from? What kind of environment breeds them? What sparks the flash of brilliance? How do we generate the breakthrough technologies that push forward our lives, our society, our culture? Steven Johnson's answers are revelatory as he identifies the seven key patterns behind genuine innovation, and traces them across time and disciplines. From Darwin and Freud to the halls of Google and Apple, Johnson investigates the innovation hubs throughout modern time and pulls out the approaches and commonalities that seem to appear at moments of originality.
The printing press, the pencil, the flush toilet, the battery--these are all great ideas. But where do they come from? What kind of environment breeds them? What sparks the flash of brilliance? How do we generate the breakthrough technologies that push forward our lives, our society, our culture? Steven Johnson's answers are revelatory as he identifies the seven key patterns behind genuine innovation, and traces them across time and disciplines. From Darwin and Freud to the halls of Google and Apple, Johnson investigates the innovation hubs throughout modern time and pulls out the approaches and commonalities that seem to appear at moments of originality.
Ratings and reviews
4.1
20 reviews
A Google user
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November 15, 2010
Good ideas are likely those that connect to eachother. Upon investigation of many events, myths had to be debunked. The author defines seven patterns of innovation and how they relate, including the Adjacent Possible, Liquid Networks, The Slow Hunch, Serendipity, Error, Exaptation, Platforms. A four quadrant diagram is used to classify breakthroughs as market, non-market, individual, or network. An appendix lists the major innovations of the previous six centuries.
Tom Davis
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December 8, 2014
Fantastic book, had trouble putting the book down.
A Google user
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April 3, 2014
I absolutely loved this book.
About the author
Steven Johnson is the bestselling author of thirteen books, including How We Got to Now, The Ghost Map, and Extra Life. He’s the host and cocreator of the Emmy-winning PBS/BBC series How We Got to Now, the host of the podcast The TED Interview, and the author of the newsletter Adjacent Possible. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, and Marin County, California, with his wife and three sons.
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