Innovation matters. So does refinement & augmentation: Long nose

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literacy: Girls in science?</a></h4> </div> <p>There are gender wars, and then there are casualties. It wasn’t until 2011 that the behemoth toymaker LEGO acknowledged girls’ desire to build with bricks, even though the company had long before made a seemingly effortless pivot to co-branding, video games, and major motion pictures. So it’s little wonder that girls face all-too-real obstacles when <a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2014/03/05/gender-role-literacy-girls-in-science/">[…]</a></p> <a class="more" href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2014/03/05/gender-role-literacy-girls-in-science/">Read more</a> </article> <article class="post"> <div class="article-footer"> <time datetime="2013">9 Dec 2013</time> <h4><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2013/12/09/challenges-of-crowdsourcing-analysis-of-historypin/">Challenges of crowdsourcing: Analysis of Historypin</a></h4> </div> <p>Crowdsourcing can build virtual community, engage the public, and build large knowledge databases about science and culture. But what does it take, and how fast can you grow? For some insight, we look at a crowdsourced history site: Historypin is an appealing database of historical photos, with dates, locations, captions, and other metadata. It’s called History <a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2013/12/09/challenges-of-crowdsourcing-analysis-of-historypin/">[…]</a></p> <a class="more" href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2013/12/09/challenges-of-crowdsourcing-analysis-of-historypin/">Read more</a> </article> <article class="post"> <div class="article-footer"> <time datetime="2013">18 Nov 2013</time> <h4><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2013/11/18/dinovember-creative-literacy-starts-young/">Dinovember: Creative literacy starts young</a></h4> </div> <p>“Uh-oh,” Refe Tuma heard his girls whisper. “Mom and Dad are not going to like this.” It’s Dinovember, and his family’s plastic dinosaurs have been getting into mischief all month. Every year, Tuma and his wife devote the month of November to “convincing our children that, while they sleep, their plastic dinosaur figures come to life. Related <a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2013/11/18/dinovember-creative-literacy-starts-young/">[…]</a></p> <a class="more" href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2013/11/18/dinovember-creative-literacy-starts-young/">Read more</a> </article> </section> </div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <main role="main" id="main"><div id="twocolumns"> <div class="container"> <h1>Innovation matters. So does refinement & augmentation: Long nose</h1> <div class="twocolumns-holder"> <section id="content" class="about-holder img-posts"> <article class="post"> <p><a href="http://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Screen-shot-2011-04-14-at-12.45.28-PM.png"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2359" title="Long nose" src="http://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Screen-shot-2011-04-14-at-12.45.28-PM.png" alt="" width="161" height="97" srcset="https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Screen-shot-2011-04-14-at-12.45.28-PM.png 161w, https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Screen-shot-2011-04-14-at-12.45.28-PM-150x90.png 150w" sizes="(max-width: 161px) 100vw, 161px" /></a>Innovation takes years, if not decades. An <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/jan2008/id2008012_297369.htm">essay</a> by Bill Buxton, principal scientist at <em>Microsoft Research</em>, introduced the idea of the “The Long Nose of Innovation.” In his Jan 2008 <em>Business Week</em> article, he draws parallels to the ‘long tail’ of products. This has applications to all kinds of planning.</p> <p>This is what the long nose looks like as a graph (it’s a nose pointing to the left):<span id="more-2352"></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Screen-shot-2011-04-14-at-12.47.31-PM.png"><img class="size-full wp-image-2361 aligncenter" title="Long nose graph" src="http://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Screen-shot-2011-04-14-at-12.47.31-PM.png" alt="" width="503" height="305" srcset="https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Screen-shot-2011-04-14-at-12.47.31-PM.png 503w, https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Screen-shot-2011-04-14-at-12.47.31-PM-150x90.png 150w, https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Screen-shot-2011-04-14-at-12.47.31-PM-300x181.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 503px) 100vw, 503px" /></a></p> <p><strong>Innovation is not about alchemy</strong></p> <p>Buxton emphasizes that “innovation is not about invention.” He says:</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>An idea may well start with an invention, but the bulk of the work and creativity is in that idea’s augmentation and refinement. The newer the idea, the coarser the granularity of most analysis, and the more likely people are to say, “oh, that’s just like X” or “that’s been done before,” without any appreciation for how much work and innovation is involved in taking an idea from concept to wide practice.</em></p> <p>This matters because educational organizations and developers may have unrealistic expectations:</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>Too often, universities try to contain the results of research in the hope of commercially exploiting the resulting intellectual property. Politicians believe that setting up tech-transfer incubators around universities will bring significant economic gains in the short or mid-term. It could happen. So could winning the lottery. I just wouldn’t count on it. Instead, perhaps we might focus on developing a more balanced approach to innovation—one where at least as much investment and prestige is accorded to those who focus on the process of refinement and augmentation as to those who came up with the initial creation</em>.</p> <p><strong>Implications</strong></p> <ul> <li><em>Plan for a long implementation phase</em>. Expect there will be a long process of refinement from the initial idea until it gets a foothold. It’s this refinement and implementation stage which American inventor Thomas Alva Edison meant when he said, “Genius is one per cent inspiration, ninety-nine per cent perspiration” in 1902.</li> <li><em>Try to shorten the long nose</em>. Buxton says the long nose is common, and “those who can shorten the nose by 10% to 20% make at least as great a contribution as those who had the initial idea.”</li> <li><em>Don’t let the turkeys get you down</em>. Ideas which are interesting are easily dismissed by the establishment.</li> <li><em>Secrecy is overrated</em>. The best ideas take years to implement. The devil is in the details, and endless cycles of refinement, testing with target audiences, promotion, and building communities/ecosystems are all key to the puzzle. This is why nondisclosure agreements are often pointless. (See classic ‘<a href="http://www.frozennorth.org/C509291565/E1939404619/index.html">The cult of the NDA</a>‘ and ‘<a href="http://www.contrast.ie/blog/five-reasons-to-drop-ndas/">Five reasons to drop NDAs</a>‘.)</li> </ul> <p><strong><a href="http://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Screen-shot-2011-04-14-at-1.27.00-PM.png"><br /> </a><strong>Long gestations</strong><br /> </strong></p> <p><strong><a href="http://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Screen-shot-2011-04-14-at-1.27.00-PM.png"><img class="alignright" title="Star Trek" src="http://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Screen-shot-2011-04-14-at-1.27.00-PM.png" alt="" width="173" height="214" /></a></strong>We have seen this phenomenon of a long time from a great initial concept (e.g., tablets in Star Trek in the 1960s) to broad use with the recent explosion of the Apple iPad tablet. The first table from Apple was the Newton in 1991, which took two decades of refinement to become the widely appealing product we see today.</p> <p>For an older, classic example, Buxton talks about the mouse, which started at <em>PARC</em> where he used to work.</p> <p>First built around 1965, the mouse was first used for music and animation in 1968 by <em>National Research Council of Canada</em>, and around 1973, <em>Xerox PARC</em> adopted the mouse as the graphical input device for the Alto computer. In 1980, <em>3 Rivers Systems</em> released the first commercial workstation that used a mouse, followed a year later by a Xerox workstation, and in January 1984, the first Macintosh. It was the Macintosh that brought the mouse to the attention of the general public. Still, it was not until 1995, with the release of Windows 95, that the mouse became ubiquitous. Buxton continues, “On the surface it might appear that the benefits of the mouse were obvious—and therefore it’s surprising it took 30 years to go from first demonstration to mainstream. But this 30-year gestation period turns out to be more typical than surprising.”</p> <p>The idea of refinement is built into the word ‘innovation.’ Older usages from the 16th century focus on altering something already established, though common usage typically means making something new. (See <a href="http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/96311">OED definitions</a>.)</p> <p>Buxton says, “our collective glorification of and fascination with so-called invention—coupled with a lack of focus on the processes of prospecting, mining, refining, and adding value to ideas—says to me that the message is simply not having an effect on how we approach things in our academies, governments, or businesses.”</p> <p><strong><br /> </strong></p> <div></div> <div class='yarpp-related'> <h3>Related posts:</h3><ol> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2005/12/02/fostering-creativity/" rel="bookmark" title="Fostering creativity">Fostering creativity </a> <small>Author: Elisa Warner Supporting creative differences through leadership can help a project reach its potential. Recognizing that enthusiasm...</small></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/02/21/making-of-science-apps-not-the-usual-suspects/" rel="bookmark" title="Making of science apps: Not the usual suspects">Making of science apps: Not the usual suspects </a> <small>On the screens of millions of iPad and other mobile devices, moons and stars, elements and molecules swirl...</small></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/02/15/over-100-million-tablets-by-end-of-the-year-says-morgan-stanley/" rel="bookmark" title="100 million tablets by end of 2011: What will it mean for learning?">100 million tablets by end of 2011: What will it mean for learning? </a> <small>Tablets are hot, and here to stay, says a new 100-page report from financial firm, Morgan Stanley, which predicts...</small></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/05/02/are-public-supported-crowdfunded-virtual-exhibits-possible/" rel="bookmark" title="Are public supported (crowdfunded) virtual exhibits possible?">Are public supported (crowdfunded) virtual exhibits possible? </a> <small>Virtual exhibits on tablet devices (e.g., the Apple iPad) put exhibits at the fingertips of students and the...</small></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/10/27/museum-tour-apps-at-3rd-museums-mobile-conference/" rel="bookmark" title="Museum tour apps for <$25k at Museums & Mobile conference">Museum tour apps for <$25k at Museums & Mobile conference </a> <small>It is getting easier and cheaper for cultural and scientific organizations make mobile, handheld tours. According to Nielsen, 40%...</small></li> </ol> </div> </article> <section class="section comments" id="comments"> <h3>One comment on <strong>Innovation matters. So does refinement & augmentation: Long nose</strong></h3> <div class="commentlist"> <div class="commentlist-item"> <div class="pingback even thread-even depth-1" id="comment-1641"> <div class="commentlist-holder"> <a href='http://hci12.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/32336737346/' rel='external nofollow' class='url'>Innovation matters. So does refinement & augmentation: Long nose « Matt's HCI12 Course Notes</a> <p class="meta"><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/04/14/innovation-matters-so-does-refinement-augmentation-long-nose/#comment-1641">26 Sep 2012, 6:28 pm</a></p> <p>[…] Innovation matters. So does refinement & augmentation: Long nose Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like this. Categories reading, […]</p> <p><a rel='nofollow' class='comment-reply-link' href='https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/04/14/innovation-matters-so-does-refinement-augmentation-long-nose/?replytocom=1641#respond' onclick='return addComment.moveForm( "comment-1641", "1641", "respond", "2352" )' aria-label='Reply to Innovation matters. So does refinement & augmentation: Long nose « Matt's HCI12 Course Notes'>Reply</a></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </section> <section class="comment-respond"> <div id="respond" class="comment-respond"> <h3 id="reply-title" class="comment-reply-title">Leave a Reply <small><a rel="nofollow" id="cancel-comment-reply-link" href="/blog/2011/04/14/innovation-matters-so-does-refinement-augmentation-long-nose/#respond" style="display:none;">Cancel reply</a></small></h3> <form action="https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-comments-post.php" method="post" id="commentform" class="comment-form"> <p class="comment-notes"><span id="email-notes">Your email address will not be published.</span> Required fields are marked <span class="required">*</span></p><p class="comment-form-author"><label for="author">Name <span class="required">*</span></label> <input id="author" name="author" type="text" value="" size="30" maxlength="245" required='required' /></p> <p class="comment-form-email"><label for="email">Email <span class="required">*</span></label> <input id="email" name="email" type="text" value="" size="30" maxlength="100" aria-describedby="email-notes" required='required' /></p> <p class="comment-form-url"><label for="url">Website</label> <input id="url" name="url" type="text" value="" size="30" maxlength="200" /></p> <p class="comment-form-comment"><label for="comment">Comment</label> <textarea id="comment" name="comment" cols="45" rows="8" maxlength="65525" required="required"></textarea></p><p class="form-submit"><input name="submit" type="submit" id="submit" class="submit" value="Post Comment" /> <input type='hidden' name='comment_post_ID' value='2352' id='comment_post_ID' /> <input type='hidden' name='comment_parent' id='comment_parent' value='0' /> </p><p style="display: none;"><input type="hidden" id="akismet_comment_nonce" name="akismet_comment_nonce" value="6a7c599ab2" /></p><p style="display: none;"><input type="hidden" id="ak_js" name="ak_js" value="18"/></p> </form> </div> </section> </section> <aside id="sidebar"> <section class="widget inner-text"> <h3>Related posts</h3> <article class="post"> <h2><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2005/12/02/fostering-creativity/">Fostering creativity<i class="icon-arrow-right-alt1"></i></a></h2> <p>Author: Elisa Warner Supporting creative differences through leadership can help a project reach its potential. Recognizing that enthusiasm is a more powerful motivator than coercion, most managers adopt the style of a coach rather than a dictator. Problem While managing a team project, it’s sometimes difficult to maintain structure without alienating staff or stifling creativity. <a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2005/12/02/fostering-creativity/">[…]</a></p> </article> <article class="post"> <h2><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/02/21/making-of-science-apps-not-the-usual-suspects/">Making of science apps: Not the usual suspects<i class="icon-arrow-right-alt1"></i></a></h2> <p>On the screens of millions of iPad and other mobile devices, moons and stars, elements and molecules swirl beneath our fingertips. Developer Mike Howard says he wants to “make you feel like you are actually there in orbit.” Theodore Gray wants you to look at the periodic table and be transported to the world of <a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/02/21/making-of-science-apps-not-the-usual-suspects/">[…]</a></p> </article> <article class="post"> <h2><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/02/15/over-100-million-tablets-by-end-of-the-year-says-morgan-stanley/">100 million tablets by end of 2011: What will it mean for learning?<i class="icon-arrow-right-alt1"></i></a></h2> <p>Tablets are hot, and here to stay, says a new 100-page report from financial firm, Morgan Stanley, which predicts the tablet market will be huge, shipping more than 100 million units by 2012. The growth rate is higher than any other mobile device in history, and will reshape learning. The following charts the total cumulative shipments* <a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/02/15/over-100-million-tablets-by-end-of-the-year-says-morgan-stanley/">[…]</a></p> </article> <article class="post"> <h2><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/05/02/are-public-supported-crowdfunded-virtual-exhibits-possible/">Are public supported (crowdfunded) virtual exhibits possible?<i class="icon-arrow-right-alt1"></i></a></h2> <p>Virtual exhibits on tablet devices (e.g., the Apple iPad) put exhibits at the fingertips of students and the public. Visitors can browse science, art or culture from classrooms, during their commutes, or from their sofas. — But where does the money come from? As with physical museums, the problem with charging money for downloads is <a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/05/02/are-public-supported-crowdfunded-virtual-exhibits-possible/">[…]</a></p> </article> <article class="post"> <h2><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/10/27/museum-tour-apps-at-3rd-museums-mobile-conference/">Museum tour apps for <$25k at Museums & Mobile conference<i class="icon-arrow-right-alt1"></i></a></h2> <p>It is getting easier and cheaper for cultural and scientific organizations make mobile, handheld tours. According to Nielsen, 40% of Americans with mobile phones are carrying smartphones; of those 40% run Android, and 28% have an Apple iPhone. This is a huge market, and by 2012, approximately half your audience could use your app from the <a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/2011/10/27/museum-tour-apps-at-3rd-museums-mobile-conference/">[…]</a></p> </article> </section> </aside> </div> </div> </div> </main> <aside class="info-links"> <div class="container"> <div class="left-holder"> <p><time datetime="2011">14 Apr 2011</time> , post by <a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/author/idea/" title="Posts by IDEA" rel="author">IDEA</a></p> </div> <div class="right-holder"> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/tag/innovation/">innovation</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/tag/planning/">planning</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/tag/apple/">Apple</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/tag/ipad/">IPad</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/tag/creativity/">creativity</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </aside> <aside class="items-holder"> <div class="container"> <div class="list-items widget-apps-widget"><h3>Read more about <br class="separator"><strong>our language-related apps.</strong></h3> <ul> <li> <div class="item-holder"> <a href="http://www.idea.org/otherwordly"> <picture>  <source srcset="https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/otherwordly_appicon_1024px_rounded_01-35x36.png, https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/otherwordly_appicon_1024px_rounded_01-70x70.png 2x" media="(max-width: 767px)"> <source srcset="https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/otherwordly_appicon_1024px_rounded_01-70x70.png, https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/otherwordly_appicon_1024px_rounded_01-140x140.png 2x">  <img src="https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/otherwordly_appicon_1024px_rounded_01-70x70.png" alt=""> </picture> <span class="title" style="color:#c46e3c">OtherWordly</span> </a> </div> </li> <li> <div class="hr"></div> <div class="item-holder"> <a href="http://www.idea.org/inotherwords"> <picture>  <source srcset="https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/inotherwords_appicon_1024px_rounded_01-35x36.png, https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/inotherwords_appicon_1024px_rounded_01-70x70.png 2x" media="(max-width: 767px)"> <source srcset="https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/inotherwords_appicon_1024px_rounded_01-70x70.png, https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/inotherwords_appicon_1024px_rounded_01-140x140.png 2x">  <img src="https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/inotherwords_appicon_1024px_rounded_01-70x70.png" alt=""> </picture> <span class="title" style="color:#8b8be0">In Other Words</span> </a> </div> </li> <li> <div class="hr"></div> <div class="item-holder"> <a href="http://www.idea.org/linguabase"> <picture>  <source srcset="https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/linguabase_appicon_1024px_rounded_01-35x36.png, https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/linguabase_appicon_1024px_rounded_01-70x70.png 2x" media="(max-width: 767px)"> <source srcset="https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/linguabase_appicon_1024px_rounded_01-70x70.png, https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/linguabase_appicon_1024px_rounded_01-140x140.png 2x">  <img src="https://www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/linguabase_appicon_1024px_rounded_01-70x70.png" alt=""> </picture> <span class="title" style="color:#b859cc">Liguabase</span> </a> </div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </aside> <footer id="footer"> <div class="container"> <nav class="page-nav"> <ul> <li id="menu-item-4498" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-home menu-item-4498"><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/">Home</a></li> <li id="menu-item-4497" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-4497"><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/about/">Mission & history</a></li> <li id="menu-item-4499" class="popup menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-4499"><a title="popup" class="js-btn-show-popups" href="#wrapper">Browse topics</a></li> <li id="menu-item-4666" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-4666"><a href="https://www.idea.org/blog/contact/">Contact IDEA</a></li> <li>Copyright © 2024 <a href="https://www.idea.org/blog">IDEA</a></li> </ul> </nav> </div> </footer> </div> <link rel='stylesheet' id='yarppRelatedCss-css' href='//www.idea.org/blog/wp-content/plugins/yet-another-related-posts-plugin/style/related.css' type='text/css' media='all' /> <script type='text/javascript'> /* <![CDATA[ */ var wpcf7 = {"apiSettings":{"root":"https:\/\/www.idea.org\/blog\/wp-json\/contact-form-7\/v1","namespace":"contact-form-7\/v1"},"cached":"1"}; 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Innovation matters. So does refinement & augmentation: Long nose – IDEA