5.4.8: Discussion Quetions

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Open innovation can be criticized for being vague and encouraging corporations to attempt to commit corporate espionage to look for solutions to problems shared by multiple firms in the same field. Is open innovation all it is cracked up to be? Is it truly new? Does it encourage intellectual property theft?

At what point is a product truly inventive? Can you think of products that some people think are inventions but that other people consider mere variations of previous products?

What is the value of creative efforts that are not meant for sale and that are never turned into products for the marketplace?

Critics of contemporary society suggest that there is something akin to a “technology cult” around the world. Some people treat innovation and inventiveness as cure-alls even as social conditions such as poverty, environmental degradation, and hunger persist. Can innovation cure all of society’s ills? If so, what is standing in the way? Why hasn’t the modern era solved basic human needs and human rights problems with technology?

Can you think of a product you or someone you know adopted early only to watch it fall into the diffusion chasm between early adopters and early majority adopters? What was that product, and why do you think it failed to make it across that gap?

What makes a model for creativity necessary? Isn’t creativity the opposite or the absence of structure?

Why does the model for innovation stress that it does not end with problem solving?

Why does the section on invention focus so much on building a team? Aren’t most inventors and truly creative people famous for working solo?