Reorganization: The Core of Innovation and Invention

Necessity may as well be the mother of invention, but it might truly be the reorganization of information that is the core of innovation. Reorganization and not organization simply because information is organized in order to invent and needs to be further reorganized in order to innovate. This brings us to the fact that interrelation between innovation and invention may be termed as either quasi-parasitic or commensal, simply as innovation is impossible without invention.

Innovation is the rudimentary act of making an invention or an idea better or more sophisticated and hence making the concept your own. For example Wi-Fi came up when someone wanted to make the internet connection between his device and the router wireless, simply because

to make it more comprehensible or compatible with respect to the circumstance in question. Let’s take an example, listed below we have two sets of information with different consequences-

CASE 1-

1. Fire produces heat and light energy

2. Light evolves along with heat

3. Oxygen produces fire and assists burning

4. Fire is dangerous and cannot be used

5. Hence combustive gases cannot be used to produce light

6. Tungsten can be heated to high temperatures by passing an electrical current

7. In the absence of oxygen, tungsten when heated emits incandescent light

8. In the presence of oxygen tungsten burns and hence does not have a long functional life

9. Inert gasses help contain the tungsten filament and prevent burning

10. Inert gasses can be contained and so can the source of the incandescence

This is the set of information that might lead one to invent the tungsten light bulb or the halogen light.

CASE 2-

1. Fire produces heat and light

The use of CFLs and inert gasses is eco-friendly

This is the set of information that might lead one to the invention of CFL bulbs

Hence one might say that the birth of the CFL bulb is a mere eco-friendly innovation to Thomas Edison’s tungsten filament bulb which was also born of Sir Humphrey Davis’ original oxygen lamp. All information has remained the same till bullet point 5, and a significant amount of the same information is used such as that of inert gasses. Further one can observe that in CASE 2 there is a need, which is to be more eco-friendly. This is a typical example of how reorganizing information is truly the essence of innovation.

Some may argue that reorganization takes place only when there is a need, and logically linking need may be the mother of innovation as well. This is sound logic and might actually be true. The fact still remains that reorganizing information in accordance to these needs serves as the core to innovation. Not the mother but rather the heart of innovation.

Another analogy to cement my stance is an innovation so familiar that we take it for granted and do not give it a second thought, the paper clip. This was invented from the need to hold sheets of paper together by twisting a piece of wire. From the fact that the sharp edges hurt, the shape was created. The reorganization of information as per the need to reduce the possibility of getting hurt changed the shape of the paper clip to what we know