Debunking The Myths of Innovation

Daddy, where do great ideas come from? This is the question technologist Scott Berkun takes on in his new book, The Myths of Innovation. If you're still waiting for your Eureka! moment to hit you on the head (like Newton's mythical apple when he "discovered" gravity), this is the book for you. One by one, Berkun unravels and explains the complex cultural and political forces and history behind innovations from the wheel to the internet with humor, realism and insight. For example, the epiphany myth that brilliant ideas strike chosen people out of nowhere:

For most, there is no singular magic moment; instead, there are many smaller insights accumulated over time. The internet required nearly 40 years of innovations in electronics, networking, and packet-switching software before it even approximated the system Tim Berners-Lee used to create the World Wide Web. The refrigerator, the laser, and the dishwasher were disasters as products for decades before enough of the barriers—cultural and technological—were eliminated, each through insights of various kinds, to make them into true business innovations. Big thoughts are fun to romanticize, but it's many small insights coming together that bring big ideas into the world.

The Myths of Innovation is a must-read for creative types searching for their muse—and anyone who wants to understand more about the world we live in. Pick up a copy at Amazon or browse excerpts over at O'Reilly.