23 April 2008

Shoulders of Giants

One of the most interesting parts of working in the tech sector is watching even the simple become complicated seemingly overnight.

When it comes to innovation the two general trends are to A) twist the ideas of someone else or B) decide that no one else appreciates the problem space like you and do something very different. Obviously there are other forms these are just the most common IMHO.

The downside of the latter is obvious when pursued by people of limited experience who don't seek first to understand.

The downside of the former is how frequently great ideas become useless and perverted once the followers try and "improve" what was a great idea, just so they can claim contribution.

The upsides are significant and common as well but make for much less interesting conversation.

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