Charles Eames, designer of the famous Eames Chair said this:
Innovate as a last resort. More horrors are done in the name of innovation than any other.
He has a point. It is a popular fantasy today, that innovation will save economies, repair a damaged planet, employ idle hands, feed the hungry and prevent insurrections. Pundits tell us that we are all creative, peddling techniques to help us have innovative ideas, frequently and steadily.
Perhaps this is nonsense.
Perhaps we would be wise to study ideas that have already been seen to work. Perhaps we could gain more by appreciating the achievements of those who have gone before us, learning the details of their success.
How ironic that famous phrase, “New and Improved”, has become.
“New & Improved” = “Cheapened to maximize profit”.
Come to think of it, maybe we HAVE reached the “last resort”stage with the problems I listed. If so, Eames would be telling us to get going on the innovation. Let the horrors begin!