Where Good Ideas Come: Chapter 6 Exaptation

Chapter Highlights:

Exaptation is borrowing a mature technology from an entirely different field and putting it to work to solve an unrelated problem.  Example; the transfer of the grape press for application in mass communication. Pg. 153

Another example of exaptation can be found in bird feathers.  Feathers for flying  are asymmetrical; the vane is large on one side.  While the feathers for insulation are symmetrical. Pg. 154

In evolution, innovation in terms of exaptation are happy accidents. Pg. 155

If mutation and error and serendipity unlock new doors in the biosphere’s adjacent possible, exaptations help us explore the new possibilities that lurk behind those door.  Example the use of a match when it is used to help one see in a dark room can be used to light a fire when you open a doorway to discover a room with wood in the fireplace.  Pg. 156 

Cities are environments that are ripe for exaptation because they cultivate specialized skills and interests and create a liquid network where information can leak out of the subcultures and influence their neighbors in surprising ways. Pg. 162

Creativity sparks when collisions from different fields of expertise share a physical or intellectual space. Pg. 163

Social networks created three times more creativity than uniform vertical networks. Pg. 166

A coffeehouse atmosphere creates room for creativity. Pg. 169

Apple Inc. brings all the departments together on the same table. Pg. 170

Multitasking allows the mind to go through multiple boxes and forces the mind to go through roadblocks from new angles or to borrow tools from one discipline to solve problems in another. Pg. 171

Chance favors the connected mind. Pg. 174

Notes from the Discussion:

Multitasking should be continuous not at only one time.

Bringing people from different disciplines together is a strength of Future Generations.

Cities are an existing platform to build on but not the only available platform.

We need to thrive to create the coffeehouse atmosphere throughout the institution.

We should consider capturing the institutions’ experiences for future publishing in the Harvard Business Review and the Stanford Alliance.