EconTalk

Matt Ridley on How Innovation Works

Aug 31, 2020

Matt Ridley, author of "How Innovation Works," dives into the fascinating distinctions between invention and innovation. He argues that making groundbreaking inventions accessible is often tougher than creating them. Ridley emphasizes the collaborative nature of innovation, using figures like Edison and Jobs to illustrate teamwork's importance. He also highlights the transformative power of permissionless innovation and the way instinctual behaviors in birds and dogs can mirror human technological progress.

01:11:08

Creator website

Episode guests

Matt Ridley

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Innovation Ripeness

01:00

The Inevitability of Innovation

02:11

Intro

3min

The Collaborative Nature of Innovation

23min

The Dedication of the Wright Brothers and Their Creative Legacy

2min

The Power of Permissionless Innovation

23min

Instincts and Innovation: Lessons from Birds and Dogs

3min

Exploring Human Aggression and Evolutionary Traits

3min

The Dual Nature of Innovation

14min

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.

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