Urgent Evoke

A crash course in changing the world.

Here's my favourite innovation rule: "If somebody already invented it, you don’t have to"

I say we have to stop reinventing the wheel if we want to change the world. We have to be as efficient as we can.

There are so many people with so many cool ideas out there, and possibly many of them are working to solve the same problem with their "bare hands", instead of working together with people that are working on the same thing.

Today we have an amazing opportunity to stop this, which is the internet. Today we have a platform where we put all of our information together. Whenever we have a good idea and we want to do something about it, I think the first thing we should be doing is to search the internet to see who else is working on the same problem. It may be a better idea to join a movement that already started.

Views: 36

Comment by Lauren Barbieri on March 23, 2010 at 10:57pm
Though this is a scientific idea than a social collaboration, what came to mind for me was the exchange between Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace (an important biologist but lesser known in the public sense). Darwin had been plugging away at natural selection for twenty years, collecting evidence, when Wallace sent Darwin some of his work - turns out the two men had found the same conclusion independently. This kicked Darwin into high gear, and while the two did work together to a degree, it's Darwin who gets all the credit (Wallace is better known for other things that aren't well known to the public - biogeography, but this is getting to be a tangent).

Anyway, the point of the little anecdote above - think of what these two could have done if they had known about each other earlier! But at the same time, this can also foster competition (it's only when Darwin found out someone else had a similar idea that he really got down to presenting his theory). And competition is a good thing and a bad thing - the two groups can independently develop two great products or ideas. But if they have the same product or idea and one wants all the credit, it can just turn into a race, if they give into their more selfish tendencies.
Comment by Jane McGonigal on March 23, 2010 at 11:10pm
Yes! I do think the EVOKE network can serve as a way to spread amazing solutions so that no one has to reinvent the wheel again. This is a great insight, thanks for sharing it!
Comment by Maarten Pakvis on March 23, 2010 at 11:13pm
I like the idea about using the internet as a platform to innovate, share ideas and solve problems, but sadly there is still the matter of ownership. I believe that until we rethink the way we own solutions, patents, etc we will not be collaboration as much as we should. Hopefully some bright minds will think of a new way to protect intellectual rights without damaging innovation :-).

In another way there can be great collaboration, when all the parties are benefiting from an improvement. Toyota was one of the first to use the knowledge of their suppliers to improve the way they manufactured, transported and handle logistics. There are quite a few articles out there about Toyota, so if you are interested please lookup Creating and Managing a High-Performance Knowledge-Sharing Network: The Toyota Case by Jeffrey H. Dyer and Kentaro Nobeoka.
Comment by Yunus Tasliel on March 24, 2010 at 12:22am
Thanks for the comments folks!
Here's a definitive blog post from the official Google Blog, regarding open systems versus intellectual rights and all that stuff:
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/meaning-of-open.html
It is a little long, but totally worth the time you spend reading it!
Comment by Jason Davis on March 24, 2010 at 3:22am
I would agree that "Don't reinvent the wheel" is a generally a good rule to live by, but I might add the corollary to "Don't be afraid to question why the wheel works". It never hurts to make sure that the basic principles that we take for granted apply in all situations. A critical approach may find an uncommon solution.

I enjoy the comments that have been made regarding this. Yeay for biogeography, Lauren Barbieri! If you are more interested in alternative views of intellectual property rights, I suggest that you check out Peter Drahos. His book Information Feudalism is a good place to start.

Remember - property rights don't necessarily have to mean private property rights. Patents and the like were originally intended to be temporary monopolies to encourage innovation and control over one's discoveries. Other possibilities can exist, such as public or common knowledge. This gets back to what I said at the start - you may not wish to reinvent the intellectual property rights system, but it doesn't hurt to question its basic tenents.
Comment by Starling on March 24, 2010 at 8:34am
Good thinking - great comments as well. Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to more blog posts from you.
Comment by Yunus Tasliel on March 25, 2010 at 10:11pm
Awesome comments, people!
Peter Senge says we should try to be aware of our assumptions in life, and from time to time, take the time to "put all of them aside" in order to bring positive innovation to the table. So yes, Jason -definitely good to question how / why the wheel works. There's always room for improvement, and thanks to those who question it, today we can use our high-tech wheels instead of the first wheel invented out of rock!
To a.v.'s comment: I really like the way you put the word "reinvent" into perspective. From that perspective, why not reinvent the wheel?... Totally! :)
The way I tried to put it in my post was more like "inventing the same wheel". But to be honest, all these comments really added great value. And actually it "sparked" some thoughts about how we can play Urgent Evoke in a more efficient manner and get more out of the game.. Let me ponder that for a while and thanks again :)

Comment

You need to be a member of Urgent Evoke to add comments!

Join Urgent Evoke

Latest Activity

Ning Admin is now a member of Urgent Evoke
May 17, 2023
N updated their profile
Sep 25, 2020
Sophie C. commented on Asger Jon Vistisen's blog post Stinging Nettle
"I love that you've brought this to attention. An extensive database of uncommon but resistant and hardy plants/foods could be developed and organized by climate. Ease of growth and processing should also be taken in to account. I will try to…"
Aug 19, 2020
Meghan Mulvey posted a blog post

Fourth of July on the Lake

This past weekend was the annual celebration at the lake house in Connecticut. It is amazing that the lake is still so clear and beautiful after all these years. The watershed association has done a wonderful job protecting these waters from the damaging effects of development.The wood grill was finally ready to cook on, so we didn't miss the propane tank fueled grill anymore. The food actually tasted fresher than in the past and was easy to keep fueled.Dad was very proud of the solar hybrid…See More
Jul 6, 2020
Asger Jon Vistisen posted a blog post

Stinging Nettle

In this blog post I will focus on a plant that is abundant in our nature, and which is immensely nutritious. It's of course the Stinging Nettle. Let's start with the chemical constituents of this plant:37 % Non-Nitrogen-Extracts19 - 29 % Ash9 - 21 % Fiber4 % Fat22 % ProteinOnce the leaves are drid, their protein content can reach an astounding 40 %, which is much higher than beef, which even under the best of circ**stances can never exceed 31 % protein. In addition the Stinging Nettle consists…See More
Apr 13, 2020
Jonathon McCallum posted a blog post

The meal

It is 7'oclock, I was late home from work due to an assignment that i wanted to get ahead on. By the time I get home I am feeling extremley tired and I cannot be bothered to make a proper meal. I walk to the fridge and open it to see what there is for me to eat. All of the out of date foodstuffs have been automaticaly thrown away by the fridge, they will be recycled tomorrow as animal feed or something. I see i have organic local eggs and some local cheese. Foods are vacc** sealded for easy…See More
Mar 10, 2020
Jean Paul Galea shared a profile on Facebook
Mar 1, 2020
Kevin posted a blog post

Future

FutureToday is 2020/1/1. It is just like yesterday. The war is still continuing. It has started since 2010. In 2010, that year was a horrible year. Almost every energy ran out. Every country’s governments were crushed down at the same time. There were riots everywhere. All of the big company’s bosses were killed xdeadx in the riots. Troops fought each other everywhere. Food was bought up xawayx at once. There were no more food supplies in any shops. The economy was all crushed down. All the…See More
Jan 1, 2020
Namwaka Mooto posted blog posts
Jan 13, 2016
T D updated their profile
Sep 3, 2015
Brook Warner posted blog posts
Aug 25, 2015
Santiago Vega posted blog posts
May 5, 2015
Santiago Vega commented on Santiago Vega's blog post Act 8
May 5, 2015
Santiago Vega posted photos
May 5, 2015
Rico Angel Rodriguez posted blog posts
May 2, 2015
Rico Angel Rodriguez posted a photo

public servants

The exchange works directly for state and public workers and servants. It gives them credit in exchange for the amount of public work they contribute to the community. The more constructive they are based off a base rate the more credit they recieve.
May 2, 2015

Follow EVOKE on Twitter




Official EVOKE Facebook Page




EVOKE RSS Activity Feed










© 2024   Created by Alchemy.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service