genius

The lone genius is the exception rather than the rule. Individuals need to be part of something larger than themselves to be able to do the work that they do. Good ideas come from crowds, they come from networks. Invention is dependent on the right circumstances.

"..when you go back and you look at the history of innovation it turns out that so often there is this quiet collaborative process that goes on, either in people building on other peoples' ideas, but also in borrowing ideas, or tools or approaches to problems." according to author Steven Johnson who has written seven books on how science, technology and human experience interact "So the trick is to find the points of possibility in your own particular place and own particular space. And not jump too far ahead. It's kind of an argument for small modular steps using the ingredients available to you and not trying to reinvent everything."