Blog Post 9 - Unit 7 Discussion Board 2 - CS875: Futuring and Innovation - Colorado Technical University (CTU)

 Unlikely, Odd, and Repurposed Innovations

               Innovations happen in many ways. Some are intentional. Others are less intentional, like: serendipitous (unlikely) innovations, innovations resulting from errors (odd), and innovation through exaptation (recycling/repurposing) of existing resources. Serendipitous innovation refers to creating or improving something that already exists by chance or luck, essentially (FutureLearn, 2022). Innovation through error is as good as it sounds; when you think failure is certain, you succeed (Livescault, n.d.). Exaptation innovation is creating or innovating existing products, services, and/or processes by finding new ways to use what is already available (typically, as part of the original product, service, or process being repurposed) (Emergent Futures Lab, n.d.).

Serendipitous (Unlikely) Innovation Example

               As mentioned above, serendipity in innovation is unexpected. For instance, someone may innovate by performing routine tasks. Possibly, someone plays a certain game regularly, and one day learns something new unexpectedly that greatly improves their performance. While it could just be a revelation (learning something new that already exists), it may also be a software bug that allows you to dominate over your competition. The exploit/trick could then be disseminated, paid or not, and lead to innovation within that gaming environment. Later the developers may patch the bug, and build better and/or more resilient coding to mitigate the issue (i.e. anti-cheat software). One unexpected gaming innovation led to a large-scale commercial innovation/evolution.

               One famously serendipitous innovation was penicillin (FutureLearn, 2022). In 1928, Alexander Fleming, the discoverer, investigated a petri dish that was left on the windowsill in sunlight for some time. Penicillin is an anti-biotic that is used to treat bacterial infections (i.e. pneumonia, anthrax, cellulitis, strep throat, etc.) (Saleh, MD, MS, 2023). It can be naturally- or synthetically-sourced, and has contributed to the Medicine field greatly. There are also various penicillin strains. However, this unlikely innovation of serendipity has had improved the lives of many people around the world, and would not have been discovered without some curiosity.

Error (Odd) Example

               Creating something by mistake has to be one of the best rewards, especially when the effort/investments are low-to-none. Some innovations through error may be part of another attempt to innovate something else. Other errors that lead to innovation may be almost serendipitous, as outlined above, as they are unlikely/luck-based. Encountering and working through errors is part of the development process. It is normal, and should be adopted, to live with failure as a developer, to some extent. At least, the trial-and-error nature of innovation is one of the simplest ways to innovate. While errors may not directly lead to an innovation, they do provide great context about what does not work. In some cases, those errors may be lucrative/useful.

               One significant invention that came from an error was safety glass (Hurrish, 2021). A French chemist, Edouard Benedictus, discovered safety glass when he dropped a beaker in the lab, but it did not shatter into pieces. It did, however, shatter, but it was contained. As it turned out, he learned that cellulose nitrate was in the beaker before, and is what has been used to develop similar solutions for shatterproof glass. The biggest use of the shatterproof glass has to be in vehicle windshields.

Exaptation (Repurposed) Innovation Example

               At first, innovative exaptation seems to be the creation through using/repurposing existing elements. However, there is a distinct difference between exaptation and adaptation (Emergent Futures Lab, n.d.). Adaptation is evolving existing elements into more innovative versions of themselves, whereas exaptation is creating something completely new from existing components. For example, making a home or structure from wood, cement from the pre-cursors, chewing gum from sapodilla plant resin, alcohol from pre-cursors, rubber from rubber tree sap, etc. The Internet/digital environment we know must also be an exaptation of electricity and its components?

               The concept of exaptation came was introduced by Gould and Verba in 1982, and replaced/offered another explanation about the pre-adaptation phase Charles Darwin (famous evolutionary scientist) proposed as a similar process (Emergent Futures Lab, n.d.). Exaptation is dived into new and current usefulness, and then further classified by: unintentional features, no-purpose/function features, invisible introductions, and unintended results that are produced by intentional features. Furthermore, these taxonomies and classifications have been fused with radical niche construction, the concept of affordances, and is more focused on material properties over processes.

Summary

               Looking at serendipity, errors, and exaptation as innovation sources, we can see that they have yielded some great creations. While some people do not believe in luck, it is important to reflect and carefully consider your environment and research projects to understand if or when there could be a hidden gem. I often learn new ways to do things by completing routine tasks, which can streamline/improve my tasks. Exaptation seems to be a bit flexible on its interpreted outcomes, errors should be reviewed to determine innovative uses, and if you are lucky enough to innovate and make a lot of profit serendipitously, then I would accept, adopt, and integrate those into your overall portfolio.

References

Bessant, J. R., & Tidd, J. (2024). Managing Innovation: Integrating Technological, Market and Organizational Change (8th ed.). Wiley Global Education US. Retrieved from https://coloradotech.vitalsource.com/reader/books/9781394252053/epubcfi/6/32[%3Bvnd.vst.idref%3DAc07]!/4

Emergent Futures Lab. (n.d.). Definition of exaptation | Emergent Futures Lab. Retrieved February 20, 2025, from emergentfutureslab.com: https://emergentfutureslab.com/innovation-glossary/exaptation

FutureLearn. (2022, October 25). Updates, insights, and news from FutureLearn | Online learning for you. Retrieved from futurelearn.com: https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/innovation-enterprise/0/steps/120754

Hurrish, C. (2021, December 27). 12 Inventions created by mistake | Diversified Spaces. Retrieved from diversifiedspaces.com: https://www.diversifiedspaces.com/2021/12/27/12-inventions-created-by-mistake/

Livescault, J. (n.d.). 35 Famous Innovation Failures - And What You Can Learn From Them. Retrieved February 20, 2025, from braineet.com: https://www.braineet.com/blog/innovation-failures

Saleh, MD, MS, N. (2023, November 20). What is penicillin used for? Retrieved from verywellhealth.com: https://www.verywellhealth.com/whats-pencillin-1124178#toc-what-is-penicillin