Tradition and Innovation
- In the ancient world immemorial customs were revered and novelty was abhorred; innovation was downplayed and rarely documented
- In Medieval Europe chaos broke the taboo of respecting ancient customs and legitimized novelty
- During the Renaissance the status of the discoverer and inventor was recognized
- During the Industrial Age novelty was viewed as beneficial and even essential
- In the Age of Consumerism the pace of innovation accelerated, and marketing targeted the feeling that novelty is beneficial for humans by changing products all the time
- The original role of science was to test philosophical hypotheses, not to invent new technologies
- But understanding the laws of nature revealed that we are not fully exploiting them: we can do more with them than evolution taught us
- Science and marketing came together to boost innovation and ridicule tradition
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