Innovation Is So Annoying
Innovation is all the rage. It will drive our economy, solve our problems, ease the burdens of everyday life, and make America great again. The past is forgotten and the present is taken for granted, but the the future will be bright thanks to Innovation. The great ideas that comprise Innovation seem to arise from […]
Innovative Intersections
It is often said that innovation occurs at the intersection of seemingly unrelated ideas. As an example, consider urine and origami. A recent paper in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A titled “Urine-Activated Origami Microbial Fuel Cells to Signal Proof of Life” by researchers at UWE Bristol has the details. The problem statement would seem […]
i Hedgehog
Hedgehogs are known for being cute, and for having sharp spines. While neither barbed nor poisonous, these spines are nonetheless their first line of defense. When threatened by a predator, the hedgehog will curl into a tight ball with all of its spines pointing outward. How little hedgehogs are made remains a mystery. Innovation often […]
Apple’s Grasp of the Obvious
The U.S. Patent system is founded on an elegantly simple process for encouraging innovation. You come up with a unique idea that is not obvious to someone who is familiar with the subject area. You describe it in sufficient detail that others can duplicate it. In return for doing so in writing, the government will […]
Steel Yourself for This
Since the beginning of the Iron Age around 1200 BC, this amazing metal has been the catalyst for the development of the modern world. Steel is the foremost metal of the day, produced at levels twenty times that of aluminum, copper, zinc, tin and lead combined. As the United States exited WWII in 1945, we […]
Buzzing in the Rain
There is an old joke that says “When it rains we do as the Chinese do, we get wet.” I’m not sure where that came from, or exactly what it means, but it appears that some Chinese engineers are tired of being ridiculed and are prepared to do something about it. For some reason, […]
Innovative Immigrants
Depending on who you listen to, we are either making slow steady progress at creating jobs in this country, or we are stuck where we were four years ago. One thing is for certain; both parties love to talk about jobs, and both will recklessly sling around words like education, entrepreneurship and innovation. Neither says […]
