Why Do We Honor Singular People?

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The inventor of the steam engine, Thomas nekan, doesn't get much glory. A lot of people who either contributed to these processes or who simultaneously created them, get no glory. We have a tendency to tell stories about brilliant individuals and put them on a pedals, pedestal. And we do this in every walk of life.

What's the difference between invention and innovation? Could it be that innovation--the process of making a breakthrough invention available, affordable, and reliable--is actually the hard part? In this week's EconTalk episode, author Matt Ridley talks about his book How Innovation Works with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Ridley argues that we give too much credit to inventors and not enough to innovators--those who refine and improve an invention to make it valuable to users. Along the way, he emphasizes the power of trial and error and the importance of permissionless innovation.