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Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation

Steven Johnson

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Why we're reading this: author guest and book mentioned November 6, 2014
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Oct 08, 2014 Kendra Kleiner rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction

In October of 1838, Charles Darwin read Malthus on Population, triggering his world changing theory of natural selection. Stories of good ideas like this are often condensed to an epiphany. In Where Good Ideas Come From: A Natural History of Innovation Steven Johnson surveyed 600 years of innovation and ideas to understand what leads to these eureka moments. He identifies 7 patterns which are presented in a well researched, well structured and objective look into the history of innovation.

A quic In October of 1838, Charles Darwin read Malthus on Population, triggering his world changing theory of natural selection. Stories of good ideas like this are often condensed to an epiphany. In Where Good Ideas Come From: A Natural History of Innovation Steven Johnson surveyed 600 years of innovation and ideas to understand what leads to these eureka moments. He identifies 7 patterns which are presented in a well researched, well structured and objective look into the history of innovation.

A quick scan of the appendix, chronicling key innovations from 1400-2000, proves Johnson did his homework. When you combine the bibliography and index you have "roughly two hundred of the most important innovations and scientific breakthroughs from the past six hundred years" covered in Good Ideas. Johnson acknowledges that this concept had brewed in the back of his mind for 10 years while working on two previous books. He researched this book for four years, allowing him to identify 7 patterns which nurture good ideas.

These 7 patterns - the adjacent possible, liquid networks, the slow hunch, serendipity, error, exaptation and platforms - make up the core chapters of Good Ideas. Each pattern represents a way to bring a good idea to light. However, the chapters on the adjacent possible and platforms are crucial to good ideas coming to fruition. The first pattern discussed, the adjacent possible, defines the limits of innovation. Brilliant ideas can be ahead of their time, failing because the world is not prepared for them. Good ideas build on existing theories and inventions, expanding the limits of the adjacent possible. Similarly, platforms are the last pattern examined because certain innovations need a pre existing platform in order to occur.

Johnson has taken a long zoom vantage point in this book. He does not distinguish between innovation and invention; commercial or academic pursuits; or focus on a particular discipline, making this a very objective read. In fact, the phrase ‘good idea’ was specifically chosen to highlight the cross-disciplinary vantage point of the book. Johnson does not argue a correct way to innovate but suggests that freely sharing ideas nurtures innovation better than guarding them. The innovative power of sharing ideas is demonstrated in all 7 patterns and defended in the conclusion of the book.

Johnson's approach allows Good Ideas to be useful for anyone looking to facilitate innovation. At 336 pages this book is a fairly quick and interesting read covering what Johnson saw as a gap in the research on innovation. This book is an overview and any reader looking for more depth or insight on a particular pattern should consult the notes and further readings for suggestions.
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Aug 26, 2019 Andy rated it it was ok · review of another edition

DNF. Meh. Mixture of interesting little factoids and long-winded explanations of stuff like why if you want to have an idea with a big impact, you shouldn't live in a small tribe of pre-civilization people. Duh. ...more

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