People love lists. With little effort, you can find the 10 best movies, TV shows, books, albums, songs, plays or cheeseburgers. The 10 best places to visit, live, retire, or attend college are only a few keystrokes away. And of course no list of lists would be complete without mentioning David Letterman’s Top 10 Lists , which can come in handy if you really care about the Easter Bunny’s top 10 pet peeves.
Most of these lists are temporarily useful or entertaining but have little transformative value (except possibly the cheeseburgers). But there is one type of list that pops up from time to time that really hits close to home – the innovations most likely to change the world.
Those who study the efficacy of innovation generally start with a look at previous world-changers, since the past is easier to predict than the future. Picture the ancient alchemist who, while searching for the secret to eternal life, found himself in a flash with no eyebrows or arm hair. The market for an antidote to eternal life was sparse, and it was not until 8th century China that scientists deliberately assembled the ingredients of gunpowder. This is one invention that unquestionably changed the course of the world, a fact that has little to do with Fourth of July fireworks. It was the next normal for warfare. <continue reading>
