W H E R E G O O D I D E A S | C O M E F R O M

The

Natural History

of Innovation

S T E V E N J O H N S O N

R i v E H H E A D B O O K S

a m e m b e r o f P e n g u i n G r o u p ( U S A ) I n c .

N e w Y o r k

2 0 1 0

W H E R E G O O D I D E A S

C O M E F R O M

A L S O B Y S T E V E N J O H N S O N

Interface Culture: HOLD IVeiu Technology Transforms the ffay fJ^ Create and Communicate

Emergence:

The Connected lives ofjints. Brains, Cities, and Software

Mind fVide Opeji: Your Brain and the JVeuroscience of Everyday life

Everything Bad Is Good for You.-Mow Today^s Popular Culture Is Actually IVItiking Us Smarter

The Ghost Map:

The Story of London^s Most Terrifying Epidemic and Mow It Clianged Science, Cities, and the Modern fVorld

The Invention of A.ir: A Story of Science, Faith, Revolution, and the Birth of America

W H E R E G O O D I D E A S

C O M E F R O M

The

Natural History

of Innovation

S T E V E N J O H N S O N

R i v E H H E A D B O O K S

a m e m b e r o f P e n g u i n G r o u p ( U S A ) I n c .

N e w Y o r k

2 0 1 0

R I V E R H E A D B O O K S P u b l i s h e d b v t h e P e n g u i n G r o u p

P e n g u i n G r o u p ( U S A ) Inc . , 375 H u d s o n S t r e e t , N e ^ York, X e w York 1 0 0 1 4 , U S A P e n g u i n G r o u p ( C a n a d a ) , 9 0 E g h n t o n A v e n u e E a s t , S u i t e 700 , I b r o n t o , O n t a r i o

M 4 P 2Y5y C a n a d a ( a d i v i s i o n o f P e a r s o n P e n g u i n C a n a d a Inc . ) P e n g u i n B o o k s L t d , S O S t r a n d , L o n d o n W C 2 R O R L , E n g l a n d P e n g u i n I r e l a n d , 2 5 S t S tep l i en ' s G r e e n , D u b l i n 2 , I r e l a n d ( a d i v i s i o n o f P e n g u i n B o o k s L t d ) ' P e n g u i n G r o u p ( A u s t r a l i a ) ,

2 5 0 C a m b e r w e l l R o a d , C a m b e r w e l l , V i c t o r i a 3 1 2 4 , A u s t r a l i a ( a d i v i s i o n o f P e a r s o n A u s t r a l i a G r o u p P t y L t d ) P e n g u i n B o o k s I n d i a P v t L t d ,

1 1 C o m m u n i t y C e n t r e , P a n c h s L e e l P a r k , N e w D e l h i 1 1 0 0 1 7 , I n d i a ' P e n g u i n G r o u p ( N Z ) , S 7 A p o l l o D r i v e , R o a e d a l e , N o r t h S h o r e 0 6 3 2 , N e w Z e a l a n d ( a d i v i s i o n

o P e a r s o n N e w Z e a l a n d L t d J P e n g u i n B o o k s ( S o u t h A f r i c a ) ( P t y ) L t d , 2 4 S t u r d e e A v e n u e , R o s e b a n k , J o h a n n e s b u r g 2 1 9 6 , S o u t h A f r i c a

P e n g u i n B o o k s L t d , R e g i s t e r e d Ofrices; S O S t r a n d , L o n d o n W C 2 R O R L , E n g l a n d

C o p y r i g h t 2 0 1 0 by S t e v e n J o h n s o n Al l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . X o p a r t o f t ins b o o k m a y b e r e p r o d u c e d , s c a n n e d , o r d i s t r i b u t e d i n

a n y p r i n t e d o r e l e c t r o n i c f o r m w i t h o u t p e r m i s s i o n . P l e a s e d o not p a r t i c i p a t e i n o r e n c o u r a g e p i r a c y o f c o p y r i g h t e d m a t e r i a l s i n v i o l a t i o n o f t h e au thor ' s r i g h t s .

P u r c h a s e only a u t h o r i z e d ed i t i ons . P u b l i s h e d s i m u l t a n e o u s l y i n C a n a d a

G r a t e f u l a c k n o w l e d g m e n t i s m a d e for p e r m i s s i o n t o r e p r i n t f r o m F r a n c o M o r e t t i , Graphs, Alaps^ Tress; Abstract Modehfar a Literary History. Verso, 2 0 0 7 . C o p y r i g h t

F r a n c o M o r e t t i 9 0 0 7 . A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . R e p r o d u c e d b y p e r m i s s i o n .

L i b r a r y o f C o n g r e s s C a t a l o g i n g - i n - P u b l i c a . t i o n D a t a

J o h n s o n , S t e v e n , d a t e . W h e r e g o o d i d e a s c o m e f r o m : t h e n a t u r a l h i s t o r y o f i n n o v a t i o n / S t e v e n J o h n s o n .

p. c m .

I S B N 1 - 1 0 1 - 4 4 0 2 0 - 1 1 . C r e a t i v e t h i n k i n g . I . T i t l e .

B F 4 0 3 . J 5 e 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 2 3 4 8 1 3 0 3 . 4 S ' 4 d c 2 2

BOOK D E S I G N H AMANDA DEWEY-

W h i l e t i l e a u t h o r h a s m a d e e v e r y e f fort t o p r o v i d e a c c u r a t e t e l e p h o n e n u m b e r s a n d I n -t e r n e t a d d r e s s e s a t t h e t i m e o f p u b l i c a t i o n , n e i t h e r t h e p u b l i s h e r n o r t h e a u t h o r a s s u m e s a n y r e s p o n s i b i l i t y for e r r o r s , or for c h a n g e s t l la t occur a f t e r p u b l i c a t i o n . F u r t h e r , t h e p u b l i s h e r d e e s n o t h a v e a n y contro l over a n d d o e s n o t a s s u m e a n v r e s p o n s i b i l i t y for a u t h o r o r t h i r d - p a r t y w e b s i t e s o r t h e i r content .

For Peter

C O N T E N T S

Introduction

REEF, CITY, WEB i

I.

THE ADJACENT POSSIBLE 2^

II.

LIQUID NETWORKS

in. THE SLOW HUNCH 67

IV.

SERENDIPITY 97

V.

ERROR m

vr.

EXAPTATION i49

V I I . PLATFORMS m

Conclusion

THE FOURTH QUADRANT 211

Acknowledgments 247

AppendiL: Chronology of Key Innovations^ 14002000 251 Notes and Further Reading 295

Bibliography J05

Index 515

Introduction

R E E F , C ITY , W E B

. . . ( 7 i imagination bodies forth The forms of things unknown, the poet^s pen Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing

A local habitation and a name.

- S H A K E S P E A R K , A Midsummer Night's Dream, V i . 1 4 - 1 7

Darwin ' s Pa radox

Apri l 4 , 1836. Over t he eas te rn e x p a n s e of the I n d i a n Ocean^ the

re l iab le nor theas t w i n d s o f m o n s o o n season have b e g u n to g ive way

to t he se rene days o f s u m m e r . On the K e e l i n g I s lands , two s m a l l

atolls c o m p o s e d of twenty-seven coral i s lands six hundred m i l e s west

o f S u m a t r a , the e m e r a l d wate rs a re invi t ingly p lac id a n d w a r m ,

their h u e enhanced by the bri l l iant whi te s and of d is in tegra ted coral.

On one stretch of shore usua l ly g u a r d e d by s t ronger surf, t he water

i s so c a l m that Cha r l e s D a r w i n w a d e s out, under the vas t b lue sky of

t he tropics, to t he e d g e of the l ive coral r e e f tha t r ings the i s land.

For hou r s h e s tands a n d padd l e s a m o n g the crowded p a g e a n t r y

of t he reef. Twenty-seven years old, seven t housand m i l e s from L o n -

don, D a r w i n i s on the prec ip ice , s t a n d i n g on an unde rwa te r p e a k

a scend ing over an u n f a t h o m a b l e sea . He i s on the e d g e o f an i d e a

about the forces that bui l t that peak , an i d e a tha t will prove to be the

S T E V E N J O H N S O N

first g r ea t scient if ic ins igh t o f h i s career. A n d he has just b e g u n exp lo r ing another hunch , still h azy a n d u n f o r m e d , that wi l l eventu-

ally l ead to t he in te l lec tual s u m m i t of t he n ine teen th century.

A r o u n d h i m , t he crowds o f t he cora l e c o s v s t e m dar t a n d s h i m -

mer . T h e sheer va r ie ty dazzles: but ter fly fish, damse l f i sh , parrot f ish .

N a p o l e o n fish, ange l f i sh ; g o l d e n an th i a s f eed ing on p l ank ton above

the caul i f lower b l o o m s of the coral ; t he sp ikes a n d ten tac les o f s ea

u rch ins a n d a n e m o n e s . T h e t ab leau de l igh t s D a r w i n ' s eye, bu t a l -

r e a d y his m i n d i s r e a c h i n g beh ind the surface d i sp lay to a m o r e

p rofound mystery. In his account of the Beagle^s voyage , p u b l i s h e d

four yea r s later, D a r w i n w o u l d write: ^Tt is excusab l e to g row en-

thus ias t i c over t he inf in i te n u m b e r s o f o rgan ic b e i n g s wi th wh ich

the s ea of t he t ropics , so p rod iga l of l i fe , t e ems ; yet I m u s t confess

I t h ink those na tu ra l i s t s who have descr ibed , in w e l l - k n o w n words ,

t he s u b m a r i n e grot toes decked wi th a t h o u s a n d beau t i e s , have in-

d u l g e d in ra ther e x u b e r a n t l a n g u a g e . "

W h a t l i nge r s i n t he back o f D a r w i n ' s m i n d , i n t he days a n d

w e e k s to c o m e , i s not t he b e a u t y of t he s u b m a r i n e grot to but ra ther

t he ' i n f i n i t e n u m b e r s " o f o rgan ic be ings . On land, t he f lora a n d

f a u n a o f t he K e e l i n g I s l a n d s a r e pa l t ry a t best . A m o n g the p lan ts ,

t he re i s l i t t le bu t '^cocoa-nut" t rees , l ichen, a n d weeds . " T h e list o f

l a n d a n i m a l s , " he wri tes , '^is even poore r t h a n tha t o f t he p l a n t s " :

a handfu l of l izards, a l m o s t no t rue l a n d birds , a n d those recen t

i m m i g r a n t s f rom E u r o p e a n sh ips , rats, '^The i s l and h a s no d o m e s t i c

q u a d r u p e d e x c e p t i n g the p ig , " D a r w i n notes wi th d i sda in .

Yet jus t a few feet a w a y f rom this deso la te habi ta t , in t he cora l r ee f waters , an epic diversity, r iva led only by that of t he r a in forests,

thr ives. T h i s i s a t r ue mystery. Why shou ld the wa te r s a t t he e d g e

R E E F , C I T Y , W E B

of an atoll suppor t so m a n y di f ferent l ive l ihoods? E x t r a c t t en thou-

s a n d cub ic feet o f wate r f rom just abou t a n y w h e r e in t he I n d i a n Ocean and do a full inven tory on the life vou f ind there : t he l ist

w o u l d be about a s '^poor" a s D a r w i n ' s account o f t he l a n d a n i m a l s

of t he Kee l ings . You m i g h t f m d a dozen fish i f you were l u c k y On

the reef, y o u w o u l d be g u a r a n t e e d a t h o u s a n d . In D a r w i n ' s own

words , s t u m b l i n g across t he ecosys t em of a coral r ee f in t he m i d d l e

of an o c e a n w a s l ike encoun te r ing a s w a r m i n g oas is in t he m i d d l e

of a deser t . We now call this p h e n o m e n o n D a r w i n ' s Pa radox : so

m a n y different l i fe fo rms , occupy ing such a vas t a r ray of ecologica l

niches , i n h a b i t i n g wa te r s tha t a re o therwise r e m a r k a b l y nutr ient -

poor. Cora l reefs m a k e up about one- ten th o f one percen t o f t he

ear th ' s surface, a n d yet rough ly a qua r t e r of t he k n o w n spec ies of

m a r i n e life m a k e thei r h o m e s there , D a r w i n doesn ' t have t hose s ta-

t is t ics ava i l ab le to h i m , s t a n d i n g in the l a g o o n in 1856, bu t he h a s

seen e n o u g h of t he wor ld over t he p r e c e d i n g four yea r s on the Bea-

gle to know the re is s o m e t h i n g pecu l i a r in t he c rowded wate rs of

t he r e e f

T h e next day, D a r w i n ventures to the windward s ide of the atoll

wi th the Beagle\ captain, Vice A d m i r a l J a m e s FitzRoy, a n d there

they watch m a s s i v e waves crash aga ins t the coral 's whi te barrier. An

ord inary E u r o p e a n spectator, accus tomed to the ca lmer waters of t he

E n g l i s h Channe l or the Med i t e r r anean , would be na tura l ly d rawn to

the impress ive crest of the surf, ( T h e breakers , D a r w i n observes , are a lmos t "equa l in force to those du r ing a ga l e of w ind in the t emper -

ate reg ions , and never cease to r a g e , " ) B u t D a r w i n has his eye on s o m e t h i n g e l s e n o t the violent su rge of wate r but the force tha t

res is ts it: the t iny o rgan i sms that have bui l t t he r ee f itself.

S T E V E N J O H N S O N

The ocean throwing its waters over the broad, reef appears an

invincible, all-powerful enemy; yet we see it resisted, and even

conquered., by means which at first seem most weak and inef-

ficient. It is not that the ocean spares tile rock of coral; the great

fragments scattered over the reef, and heaped on the beach,

whence the tall cocoa-nut springs, plainly bespeak the unre-

lenting power of the waves . . . Yet these low, insignificant

coral-islets stand and are victorious: for here another power, as

an antagonist, takes part in the contest. The organic forces sep-

arate the atoms of carbonate of lime, one by one, from the

foaming breakers, and unite them into a symmetrical structure.

Le t the hurricane tear up its thousand huge fragments; yet

what will that tell against the accumulated labour of myriads

of architects at work night and day, month after month?

D a r w i n i s d r awn to those m i n u s c u l e archi tec ts b e c a u s e he b e -

l ieves they a r e t he key to so lv ing the m y s t e r y tha t has b r o u g h t the

Beagle to the K e e l i n g I s lands , In t he A d m i r a l t y ' s m e m o r a n d u m

au thor i z ing the sh ip ' s f ive-year journey, one of t he p r inc ipa l sc ien-tific direct ives i s the inves t iga t ion of atoll format ion . Da rwin ' s m e n -

tor, t he br i l l i an t geo log i s t C h a r l e s L y e l l , h a d recent ly p roposed tha t

atol ls a r e c rea ted by u n d e r s e a vo lcanoes tha t have b e e n dr iven up -

w a r d by powerful m o v e m e n t s in t he ear th ' s crust . In L y e l l ' s theory,

t he dis t inct ive c i rcular s h a p e of an atoll e m e r g e s as coral colonies

construct reefs a l o n g t h e c i r cumference of the vo lcan ic crater, D a r -

win ' s m i n d h a d been profoundly s h a p e d b y L y e l l ' s u n d e r s t a n d i n g

o f t he d e e p t i m e o f geo log ica l t r ans fo rmat ion , but s t a n d i n g on the

beach , w a t c h i n g the b r eake r s crash a g a i n s t t he coral , he k n o w s tha t

h i s m e n t o r is w r o n g about t he o r ig in of t he atolls. I t i s not a s tory

R E E F , C I T Y , W E B

T h e Super l inear City

F r o m an ear ly a g e , t he S w i s s scient is t M a x Kle ibe r h a d a knack for

t e s t ing the e d g e s o f convent ion. As an u n d e r g r a d u a t e in Zu r i ch in

t he 1910s, he r o a m e d t h e s t ree ts d ressed in s a n d a l s a n d an open

collar, s h o c k i n g a t t i re for t h e day. D u r i n g his t enu re in the S w i s s

army, he d i scovered tha t h i s super iors h a d been t r a d i n g infor-

m a t i o n wi th t h e G e r m a n s , desp i te the official S w i s s posi t ion o f

neu t ra l i ty in Wor ld W a r I . A p p a l l e d , he s i m p l y fa i led to a p p e a r a t

h i s nex t ca l l -up , a n d w a s u l t ima te ly j a i l ed for severa l mon ths . By the t u n e he h a d se t t led on a career in ag r i cu l tu ra l sc ience , he h a d

h a d e n o u g h of t he res t r ic t ions of Zu r i ch society. And so M a x

Kle ibe r cha r t ed a p a t h tha t w o u l d be fol lowed by count less s a n d a l -

wea r ing , nonconformis t wa r protes ters in the decades to come . He

m o v e d to Cal i forn ia ,

of s i m p l e geology, he real izes . I t is a s tory about t he innovat ive

pe r s i s t ence of l ife. A n d as he m u l l s t he though t , t he re i s a h in t of

s o m e t h i n g e lse in his m i n d , a larger, m o r e e n c o m p a s s i n g theory

tha t m i g h t account for t he vas t scope o f life 's innovat ions . T h e

fo rms of t h i n g s u n k n o w n a re tu rn ing , slowly, into shapes .

D a y s later, back on the Beagle^ D a r w i n pu l l s out h i s journa l a n d reflects on that m e s m e r i z i n g c lash b e t w e e n su r f a n d coral . P r e -

s a g i n g a l ine he w o u l d pub l i sh th i r ty yea r s la ter in t he m o s t f a m o u s

p a s s a g e f rom On the Origin of Species, D a r w i n wri tes , '^I can ha rd ly e x p l a i n the reason , bu t t he re i s t o my m i n d m u c h g r a n d e u r i n t he

v i e w of the ou te r shores o f t hese l agoon- i s l ands . " In t i m e , t he rea -

son w o u l d c o m e to h i m .

S T E V E N J O H N S O N

K l e i b e r set up shop a t t he ag r i cu l tu ra l co l lege run by the U n i -

vers i ty of Ca l i fo rn ia a t D a v i s , in the hear t of the fert i le Cen t ra l

Valley. H i s resea rch init ial ly focused on cattle, m e a s u r i n g the i m p a c t

body size h a d on thei r me tabo l i c ra tes , the speed wi th wh ich an or-

g a n i s m b u r n s t h rough energy. E s t i m a t i n g metabo l i c ra tes h a d g rea t

prac t ica l va lue for t he cat t le industry, because i t enab led f a r m e r s to

predic t wi th r easonab le accuracy both how m u c h food their l ivestock

w o u l d requ i re , a n d how m u c h m e a t they would u l t ima te ly produce

after s laughter . Shor t ly after his ar r ival a t Dav i s , K le ibe r s t u m b l e d

across a mys t e r ious pa t te rn in his r esea rch , a m a t h e m a t i c a l oddi ty

tha t soon b rough t a m u c h m o r e d iverse a r ray of creatures to be

m e a s u r e d in his lab: rats, r i ng doves, p igeons , dogs , even h u m a n s .

Sc ien t i s t s a n d a n i m a l lovers h a d long obse rved tha t a s life g e t s

b igger , i t s lows down. F l i e s l ive for hou r s or days; e l ephan t s l ive for

half-centur ies . T h e hea r t s o f b i rds a n d s m a l l m a m m a l s p u m p b lood

m u c h faster t han those o f giraffes a n d b lue whales . B u t the re la t ion-

sh ip b e t w e e n s ize a n d speed didn ' t s e e m to be a l inea r one. A horse

m i g h t be five h u n d r e d t i m e s heav ie r t han a rabbi t , yet i ts pu l se

cer tainly wasn ' t five h u n d r e d t u n e s s lower t han the rabbit ' s . After a

f o rmidab l e ser ies o f m e a s u r e m e n t s in his D a v i s lab, K le ibe r discov-

ered tha t th i s s ca l i ng p h e n o m e n o n s tuck to an u n v a r y i n g m a t h e -

ma t i ca l scr ipt cal led "nega t ive quar ter -power scal ing," I f y o u p lo t ted

m a s s ve r sus m e t a b o l i s m on a l o g a r i t h m i c gr id , the resu l t w a s a per-

fectly s t ra igh t l ine tha t l ed f rom ra ts a n d p i g e o n s a l l t he w a y up to

bu l l s a n d h i p p o p o t a m i .

Physic is ts w e r e used to d iscover ing beaut i fu l equa t ions l ike this

l u r k i n g in t he p h e n o m e n a they s tudied , bu t m a t h e m a t i c a l e l e g a n c e

w a s a ra r i ty in t he compara t ive ly m e s s y wor ld of biology. B u t the

m o r e species K le ibe r a n d his pee r s analyzed, t he c learer the equa t ion

R E E F , C I T Y , W E B

b e c a m e : m e t a b o l i s m scales to m a s s to the nega t ive quar te r power.

T h e m a t h i s s imp le enough : you t ake the s q u a r e root o f 1,000, which

i s ( app rox ima te ly ) 5 1 , a n d then t ake the s q u a r e root of 5 1 , which i s ( aga in , app rox ima te ly ) 5,5, T h i s m e a n s that a cow, wh ich is rough ly a t h o u s a n d t u n e s heavie r t han a woodchuck , will , on ave rage , live

5.5 t i m e s longer, a n d have a hear t ra te that is 5.5 t i m e s s lower t h a n

the woodchuck 's . As the sc ience wri ter G e o r g e Johnson once ob-

served , one lovely consequence of Kle iber ' s l a w i s tha t t he n u m b e r

of hea r tbea t s per l i f e t ime tends to be s tab le f rom spec ies to species .

B i g g e r a n i m a l s just t ake longer to u s e up thei r quo ta .

Over t he e n s u i n g decades , K le ibe r ' s law wda e x t e n d e d down to

the mic roscop ic sca le o f bac te r i a a n d cell m e t a b o l i s m ; even p lan t s

w e r e found to obey nega t ive qua r t e r -power s ca l i ng in thei r pa t -

te rns o f g rowth . Wherever l i fe appea red , wheneve r an o r g a n i s m

h a d to f igure out a way to c o n s u m e a n d d is t r ibu te e n e r g y t h r o u g h

a body, nega t ive quar te r -power s ca l i ng g o v e r n e d the pa t t e rns of i ts

de ve l o p m ent,

Seve ra l years ago , t he theoret ica l physicis t Geoff rey West de -

c ided to inves t iga te whether Kle iber ' s law app l i ed to one of life 's

l a rges t creat ions: t he super o rgan i s m s of h u m a n - b u i l t cities. D i d the

' ^metabol i sm" of u rban life slow down as ci t ies g r e w in size? W a s

there an under ly ing pat tern to the growth and pace of life of me t -

ropol i tan sys tems? Working out o f the l egenda ry S a n t a Fe Inst i tute ,

whe re he served as pres ident unt i l 2009 , West a s s e m b l e d an in terna-

t ional t e a m of researchers a n d advisers to collect d a t a on dozens of

cities a round the world, m e a s u r i n g every th ing f rom c r ime to house -

ho ld electrical consumpt ion , f rom new pa ten ts to gaso l ine sales.

W h e n they finally c runched the n u m b e r s . West and his t e a m

were de l igh ted to discover that Kle iber ' s negat ive quar ter-power seal-

S T E V E N J O H N S O N

10

ing governed the ene rgy and t ranspor ta t ion gro%\'th of city hving.

T h e n u m b e r o f gasol ine stations, gasol ine sales, road surface area , t he

l eng th of electrical cables: all these factors follow the exact s a m e

power law that governs the speed wi th which energy i s e x p e n d e d in

biological o rganisms . If an e lephant was just a sca led-up mouse , then, from an ene rgy perspect ive, a city w a s just a sca led-up e lephant .

B u t the m o s t f asc ina t ing d iscovery in West ' s r esea rch c a m e

f rom the d a t a tha t didn't turn out to obey Kle iber ' s law. West a n d h i s

t e a m discovered ano the r power law l u r k i n g in thei r i m m e n s e da ta -

base of u rban statistics. E v e r y da tapoin t that involved creat ivi ty a n d

innova t ionpaten t s , R & D budge t s , super c rea t ive" professions,

i n v e n t o r s a l s o fol lowed a quar te r -power law, in a way that w a s

every b i t a s p red ic tab le as Kle iber ' s law. B u t there w a s one funda-

m e n t a l difference: t he quar te r -power law gove rn ing innovat ion w a s

positive^ not negat ive , A city tha t w a s ten t i m e s la rger than its n e i g h -

bor wasn ' t t en t i m e s m o r e innovat ive; i t w a s seventeen t i m e s m o r e

innovat ive, A met ropo l i s fifty t i m e s b i g g e r t han a town was 150

t i m e s m o r e innovat ive ,

K le ibe r ' s law proved tha t as l ife g e t s b igger , i t s lows down. B u t

West ' s m o d e l d e m o n s t r a t e d one crucial way in wh ich h u m a n - b u i l t

ci t ies broke f rom the pa t t e rns of b io log ica l life: as ci t ies ge t b igger ,

t hey g e n e r a t e ideas a t a faster clip. T h i s is wha t we call " super l inea r

s c a l i n g " : i f creat ivi ty sca led wi th size in a s t ra igh t , l inear fashion,

y o u w o u l d of course f m d m o r e pa t en t s a n d invent ions in a l a rge r

city, bu t t he n u m b e r o f pa t en t s a n d invent ions per cap i ta would be

s tab le . West 's p o w e r l aws s u g g e s t e d s o m e t h i n g far m o r e provoca-

t ive: tha t desp i t e a l l the no ise a n d c rowding a n d dis t ract ion, t he

a v e r a g e res iden t of a me t ropo l i s wi th a popu la t ion of five m i l l i o n

p e o p l e w a s a l m o s t three times m o r e crea t ive t h a n the a v e r a g e res i -

R E E F , C I T Y , W E B

T h e 1 0 / 1 0 Ru le

T h e first na t ional b roadcas t of a color te levis ion p r o g r a m took p lace

on J a n u a r y 1 , 1954, w h e n N B C a i r ed an hour - long te lecas t o f t he

T o u r n a m e n t of R o s e s p a r a d e , a n d d is t r ibu ted i t to twenty- two ci t ies

across the country. For those lucky e n o u g h to s e e the p r o g r a m , the

effect of a m o v i n g color i m a g e on a s m a l l screen s e e m s to have b e e n

m e s m e r i z i n g . T h e JSfew York Times., in typica l l a n g u a g e , ca l led it a "ver i tab le bevy of h u e s a n d dep th . " "To concent ra te so m u c h color

in fo rmat ion wi th in the f r a m e of a s m a l l screen ," t h e TY/Tiej wro te , "wou ld be diff icul t for even the m o s t g i f ted ar t is t d o i n g a ^still'

pa in t ing . To do i t wi th cons tant ly m o v i n g p ic tu res s e e m e d pu re

wizardry," A las , the R o s e P a r a d e " b r o a d c a s t " t u rned out to be not

all tha t b road , g iven that i t w a s v i s ib le only on pro to type te lev i s ions

i n R C A showrooms . Color p r o g r a m m i n g would not b e c o m e s tan-

da rd on p r i m e - t i m e shows unt i l t he la te 1960s. After t h e adven t o f

color, t he bas ic convent ions tha t def ined the te lev is ion i m a g e w o u l d

go u n c h a n g e d for decades . T h e del ivery m e c h a n i s m s b e g a n to di-

vers i fy wi th the in t roduct ion of V C R s a n d cable in the late 1970s,

B u t t he i m a g e r e m a i n e d the s a m e .

In the m i d - 1 9 8 0 s , a n u m b e r of influential m e d i a a n d technol-

11

den t of a town of a l i und red thousand , " G r e a t ci t ies a re not l ike

t owns only larger ," J a n e J a c o b s wro te near ly fifty yea r s a g o . West ' s

pos i t ive quar te r -power law gave tha t ins igh t a m a t h e m a t i c a l foun-

dat ion. S o m e t h i n g about t he e n v i r o n m e n t o f a b i g city w a s m a k i n g

its res iden ts s igni f icant ly m o r e innova t ive t han res iden ts o f s m a l l e r

towns . B u t w h a t w a s it?

S T E V E N J O H N S O N

1 . T h e c o n v o l u t e d h i s t o r y o f H E T V ' s o r i g i n s c o u l d b e t h e s u b j e c t o f a n e n t i r e b o o k , b u t t h e c o n d e n s e d v e r s i o n g o e s s o m e t h i n g l i k e t h i s : i n t h e e a r l y 1 9 8 0 s t h e J a p a n e s e p u b l i c b r o a d c a s t i n g

c o m p a n y N H K g a v e a s e r i e s o f d e m o n s t r a t i o n s o f a p r o t o t y p e h i g h - d e f i n i t i o n t e l e v i s i o n p l a t -

f o r m t o m e m b e r s o f t b e L I S . C o n g r e s s a n d o t h e r g o v e r n m e n t o f f i c i a l s . T h i s w a s a t t h e h e i g h t

o f A m e r i c a n f e a r s a b o u t J a p a n ' s e c o n o m i c a s c e n d a n c y a t i m e w h e n S o n y t e l e v i s i o n s w e r e a l -

r e a d y o u t s e l l i n g v e n e r a b l e A m e r i c a n b r a n d s l i k e R C A a n d Z e n i t h . T h e i d e a t h a t t h e J a p a n e s e

m i g h t i n t r o d u c e a b i g h e r - q u a l i t v i m a g e t o t h e U . S . m a r k e t p o s e d a t h r e a t b o t h t o A m e r i c a n

c o n s u m e r e l e c t r o n i c s c o m p a n i e s a n d , a s t h e n - s e n a t o r A l G o r e p o i n t e d o u t a f t e r w a t c h i n g t h e

N H K d e m o , t o t h e s e m i c o n d u c t o r c o m p a n i e s t h a t w o u l d m a k e t h e c h i p s for a l l t h o s e n e w t e l e -

v i s i o n b o x e s . W i t h i n a m a t t e r o f m o n t h s , t h e F e d e r a l C o m m u n i c a t i o n s C o m m i s s i o n f o r m a l l y

d e c i d e d t o i n v e s t i g a t e t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f i m p r o v i n g t h e p i c t u r e q u a l i t v o f b r o a d c a s t a n d c a b l e

T V . A l l t h e f o r c e s w e r e a l i g n e d for t h e n e x t m a j o r s t e p f o r w a r d i n t h e t e l e v i s i o n m e d i u m . R o n -a l d R e a g a n , a l w a y s o n e t o g r a s p t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i v e p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f t e l e v i s i o n , e v e n c a l l e d t h e

d e v e l o p m e n t o f a U . S . H D T V s t a n d a r d a m a t t e r o f ' ' n a t i o n a l i n t e r e s t . "

B u t w h a t f o l l o w e d i n t h e s u b s e q u e n t y e a r s w a s l e s s o f a G r e a t L e a p F o r w a r d a n d m o r e

o f a n e n d l e s s , s e r p e n t i n e c r a w l . F i r s t , t h e F C C a p p o i n t e d a c o m m i t t e e t h e A d v i s o r y C o m m i t -

t e e o n A d v a n c e d T e l e v i s i o n S e r v i c e ( A C A T S ) t h a t s o l i c i t e d a n d r e v i e w e d t w e n t y - t h r e e d i f f e r -e n t p r o p o s a l s o v e r t h e n e x t y e a r , e v e n t u a l l y w i n n o w i n g t h e m d o w n t o s i x d i f f e r e n t s y s t e m s , e a c h

u s i n g a u n i q u e s c h e m e t o c o n v e y h i g h e r - d e f i n i t i o n s o u n d a n d i m a g e . S o m e w e r e a n a l o g , o t h e r s

d i g i t a l . S o m e w e r e b a c k w a r d c o m p a t i b l e w i t h t h e c u r r e n t s y s t e m s ; o t h e r s w o u l d r e q u i r e t h e

c o n s u m e r t o u p g r a d e t o n e w e q u i p m e n t . F o r f i v e y e a r s , t h e s p o n s o r o r g a n i z a t i o n s e n h a n c e d a n d

t e s t e d t h e i r v a r i o u s p l a t f o r m s , a t a c o s t o f h u n d r e d s o f m i l l i o n s i n r e s e a r c h - a n d - d e v e l o p m e n t

d o l l a r s . T h e w h o l e p r o c e s s w a s s u p p o s e d t o c o m e t o a c o n c l u s i o n i n 1 9 9 5 , w h e n A C A T S w a s

s c h e d u l e d t o r u n a s e r i e s o f f i n a l t e s t s a n d p i c k a w i n n e r , b u t t h e f i n a l t e s t s t u r n e d o u t t o b e a

p r e a m b l e : t h e o n l y t h i n g t h e c o m m i t t e e a g r e e d o n w a s t h a t d i g i t a l w a s p r e f e r a b l e t o a n a l o g ,

w h i c h r e d u c e d t h e f i e l d s l i g h t l y . I ' h e r e m a i n i n g c o n t e n d e r s a l l h a d e n o u g h f l a w s i n d i v i d u a l l y

t o k e e p t h e c o m m i t t e e f r o m a n o i n t i n g a n e w h e i r a p p a r e n t , a n d s o t h e A C A T S g r o u p p r o p o s e d

t h a t t h e r e m a i n i n g c a n d i d a t e s c o l l a b o r a t e o n a s i n g l e s t a n d a r d . T h i s g r o u p c a l l e d t h e G r a n d

A l l i a n c e r e a c h e d a g r e e m e n t o n s p e c i f i c a t i o n s for d i g i t a l h i g h - d e f i n i t i o n v i d e o a n d a u d i o i n

1 9 9 5 , w h i c h t h e F C C e m b r a c e d t h e f o l l o w i n g y e a r .

12

o g y execut ives , a long wi th a few v i s ionary pol i t ic ians, h a d the e m i -

nent ly good i d e a tha t i t w a s t i m e to u p g r a d e the v ideo qual i ty o f

b roadcas t te levision. S p e e c h e s were del ivered, commi t t e e s fo rmed ,

expe r imen ta l pro to types built , but i t wasn ' t tmti l Ju ly 2 5 , 1996, tha t

a R a l e i g h , N o r t h Caro l ina , C B S aff i l ia te in i t ia ted the first pub l i c

t r ansmis s ion o f a n H D T V s igna l . L i k e the T o u r n a m e n t o f R o s e s

footage, t hough , there were no ord inary c o n s u m e r s wi th sets capable

of d i sp l ay ing its "wizardry," ' A handful of b roadcas te rs b e g a n t rans-

m i t t i n g H D T V s igna l s i n 1999, bu t H D te levis ion didn ' t b e c o m e a

R E E F , C I T Y , W E B

m a i n s t r e a m c o n s u m e r p h e n o m e n o n for ano the r f ive years . E v e n

after t he F C C m a n d a t e d that all te levis ion s ta t ions cease broadcas t -

ing the old a n a l o g s t anda rd on J u n e 12, 2009 , m o r e t han 10 percent

of U.S , househo lds h a d te levis ions that w e n t da rk tha t day.

I t i s one of t he g rea t t r u i s m s of our t i m e that we l ive in an a g e

of t echno log ica l acceleration:, t he n e w p a r a d i g m s keep ro l l ing in,

a n d the in te rva l s b e t w e e n t h e m k e e p shor tening. T h i s acce lera t ion

reflects not only t h e f lood of n e w products , but a l so our g r o w i n g

w i l l i n g n e s s t o e m b r a c e these s t r a n g e n e w devices , a n d pu t t h e m to

use . T h e w a v e s roll i n a t ever - inc reas ing f requencies , a n d m o r e a n d

m o r e o f u s a re b e c o m i n g t r a ined surfers , p a d d l i n g out t o m e e t t h e m

the second they s tar t t o crest. B u t t he H D T V story sugges t s tha t th i s

acce lera t ion is ha rd ly a un ive r sa l law. I f y o u m e a s u r e how quick ly

a n e w techno logy p rogresses f rom an or ig ina l idea to m a s s adopt ion,

t hen i t t u rn s out tha t H D T V w a s t r ave l ing a t t he exac t s a m e speed

tha t color te lev is ion h a d t r ave led four d e c a d e s earl ier . I t took t en

yea r s for color TV to go f rom the f r inges to the m a i n s t r e a m ; two

gene ra t ions later, i t took H D T V jus t a s l ong to ach ieve m a s s success.

In fact, i f y o u look a t t he en t i re ty of t he twent ie th century, t he

m o s t i m p o r t a n t d e v e l o p m e n t s i n m a s s , one - to -many c o m m u n i -

cat ions clock in a t t he s a m e socia l innova t ion ra te wi th an eer ie

regular i ty . Ca l l i t t h e 1 0 / 1 0 ru le : a decade to bu i ld t he n e w pla t -

form, a n d a d e c a d e for i t to f ind a m a s s aud ience . T h e t e c h n o l o g y

s t anda rd o f a m p l i t u d e - m o d u l a t e d r a d i o w h a t w e now call A M

r a d i o e v o l v e d in t he first d e c a d e o f t he twen t ie th century. T h e

first c o m m e r c i a l AM s ta t ion b e g a n b roadcas t i ng i n 1920, bu t i t

wasn ' t unt i l the la te 1920s tha t r ad ios b e c a m e a f ix ture in A m e r i c a n

households , S o n y i n a u g u r a t e d r e sea rch into the first c o n s u m e r v id -

eocasse t te recorder in 1969, but didn ' t sh ip its f irst B e t a m a x for

S T E V E N J O H N S O N

14

ano the r seven years , a n d V C R s didn ' t b e c o m e a househo ld necess i ty

imt i l t h e mid -e igh t i e s . T h e D V D player d idn ' t s ta t is t ical ly r ep lace

the V C R in A m e r i c a n househo lds unt i l 2 0 0 6 , n i n e yea r s af ter t he

first p layers went on the m a r k e t . Cel l phones , pe r sona l c o m p u t e r s ,

G P S nav iga t ion d e v i c e s a l l took a s i m i l a r t i m e f r a m e to go f rom

innova t ion t o m a s s adopt ion .

Consider , a s an a l t e rna te scenario , t he s tory o f C h a d Hurley,

S teve C h e n , a n d J a w e d K a r i m , t h r ee fo rmer e m p l o y e e s o f t he onl ine

p a y m e n t si te P a y P a l , who dec ided in ear ly 2 0 0 5 tha t t he W e b w a s

r ipe for an u p g r a d e in t he way i t hand led v ideo a n d sound. Video,

of course , w a s not nat ive to t he V\'eb, which had b e g u n its life fifteen

yea r s before as a p l a t fo rm for a c a d e m i c s to s h a r e hyper tex t docu-

m e n t s . B u t over t he years , v ideo cl ips h a d b e g u n to t r ickle thei r way

onl ine , t hanks to n e w v ideo s t anda rds that e m e r g e d , such as Quick-T i m e , F l a s h , o r Windows M e d i a Player, B u t the m e c h a n i s m s tha t

a l lowed peop le to u p l o a d a n d s h a r e thei r own v ideos w e r e too chal -

l e n g i n g for m o s t o rd ina ry users . So Hurley , Chen , a n d K a r i m cob-

b led toge ther a r ough be ta for a service that w o u l d correct t hese

deficiencies , r a i sed less than $10 mi l l ion in v e n t u r e capi ta l , h i red

about two dozen people , a n d l a u n c h e d YouTube , a webs i t e tha t

ut ter ly t r a n s f o r m e d the way v ideo in fo rmat ion i s sha red onl ine .

Wi th in s ix teen m o n t h s o f t he c o m p a n y ' s founding, t he service w a s

s t r e a m i n g m o r e than 50 mi l l ion v ideos a day. With in two years , You-

T u b e w a s one of the top- ten m o s t v i s i t ed s i tes on the Web. Before

Hurley, Chen , a n d K a r i m hit u p o n thei r i d e a for a s tar t -up, v ideo on

the Web w a s a s c o m m o n as subt i t les on te levis ion. T h e Web w a s

about do ing th ings wi th text , a n d u p l o a d i n g the occas ional photo .

Y o u T u b e b r o u g h t Web v ideo into the m a i n s t r e a m .

N o w c o m p a r e the way these two i d e a s H D T V a n d Y o u T u b e

R E E F , C I T Y , W E B

c h a n g e d the bas ic ru les of e n g a g e m e n t for thei r respect ive plat-

forms. G o i n g f rom a n a l o g te levis ion to f l D T V is a c h a n g e in degree ,

not in kind: there a re m o r e p ixels ; the sound i s m o r e i m m e r s i v e ; the

colors a re sharper. Bu t c o n s u m e r s wa tch H D T V the exac t s a m e way

they wa tched o ld- fash ioned a n a l o g TV T h e y choose a channel , a n d

sit back a n d watch, YouTube , on the other hand, radica l ly al tered the

bas ic ru les of the m e d i u m . For s tar ters , i l m a d e watchino; v ideo on

the Web a m a s s p h e n o m e n o n . Bu t wi th Y o u T u b e you weren ' t h m i t e d

to s i t t ing a n d wa t ch ing a show, te levis ion-s tyle ; you could also up -

load your own clips, r e c o m m e n d or ra te o ther c l ips , ge t into a con-

versa t ion about t h e m . With just a few easy keystrokes, you could take a cl ip r u n n i n g on s o m e o n e else 's si te, and drop a copy of i t onto your

own site. T h e t echno logy a l lowed o rd ina ry en thus ias t s to effectively

p r o g r a m thei r own private te lev is ion networks , s t i tch ing toge ther

v ideo cl ips f rom all across the planet .

S o m e wil l say that this i s m e r e l y a m a t t e r of sof tware , wh ich is

intr insical ly m o r e adap tab le t han h a r d w a r e l ike te levis ions or cel-

lu la r phones . B u t before the Web b e c a m e m a i n s t r e a m in the m i d -

1990s, the pace o f sof tware innovat ion fol lowed the exac t s a m e

1 0 / 1 0 pa t te rn o f deve lopmen t that we saw in the sp r ead of other

twent ie th-century technologies . T h e g raph ica l user interface, for in-

s tance , dates back to a f a m o u s t echno logy d e m o given by p ionee r ing

compu te r scientist D o u g E n g e l b a r t i n 1968, D u r i n g the 1970s, m a n y

of i ts core e l e m e n t s l i k e the now ub iqu i tous desk top m e t a p h o r

w e r e deve loped by researchers a t X e r o x - P A R C , B u t t he f irst c o m -

m e r c i a l product w i t h a fully rea l ized g raph ica l use r in ter face didn ' t

sh ip tmti l 1981, in t he fo rm of the Xerox S ta r works ta t ion , fol lowed

by the Mac in to sh in 1984, t he first g raph ica l use r interface to reach

a m a i n s t r e a m , i f n iche , aud ience . B u t i t wasn ' t unt i l t he re lease of

S T E V E N J O H N S O N

T This is a book about t he space of innovat ion . S o m e envi ron-m e n t s sque lch n e w ideas ; s o m e env i ronmen t s s e e m t o b r e e d t h e m effortlessly. T h e city a n d the Web have b e e n such e n g i n e s o f

innovat ion because , for compl i ca t ed his tor ical reasons , they a re both

env i ronmen t s tha t a r e powerfu l ly su i ted for t he creat ion, diffusion,

a n d adop t ion o f good ideas . N e i t h e r e n v i r o n m e n t i s perfect , by any

16

W i n d o w s 3,0 in 1 9 9 0 a l m o s t exact ly ten years after t he Xerox S ta r

hi t the market^that g raph ica l u^er interfaces b e c a m e the n o r m .

T h e s a m e pa t te rn occurs in the d e v e l o p m e n t a l history of other soft-

w a r e genres , such as word processors , sp readshee t s , o r e -ma i l chents .

T h e y were all bui l t out of bi ts , not a toms , but they took jus t as l ong to go f rom idea to m a s s success a s H D T V did.

T h e r e a re m a n y ways t o m e a s u r e innovat ion , but p e r h a p s the

m o s t e l e m e n t a l yards t ick , a t l eas t whe re t echno logy i s concerned ,

revolves a round the job tha t t he t echno logy in ques t ion lets y o u do. Al l other t h i n g s b e i n g equa l , a b r e a k t h r o u g h that le ts y o u e x e c u t e

two jobs that we re i m p o s s i b l e before is tw ice as innovat ive as a b r e a k t h r o u g h that le ts you do only one new th ing . By tha t m e a s u r e ,

Y o u T u b e w a s s ign i f ican t ly m o r e innovat ive t han H D T V , desp i te the

fact that H D T V w a s a m o r e c o m p l i c a t e d t echn ica l p r o b l e m , You-

T u b e le t y o u pub l i sh , sha re , ra te , d iscuss , a n d wa tch v ideo m o r e

efficiently t han ever before. H D T V let y o u w a t c h m o r e p i x e l s t h a n

ever before. B u t even wi th a l l those ex t ra layers of innovat ion , You-

T u b e w e n t f rom i d e a t o m a s s adop t ion in less t han two years . S o m e -

t h i n g about t he Web e n v i r o n m e n t h a d enab led Hur ley , C h e n , a n d

K a r i m to un l ea sh a g o o d i d e a on the wor ld wi th a s ton i sh ing speed .

T h e y took the 1 0 / 1 0 ru l e a n d m a d e i t 1 / 1 .

R E E F , C I T Y , W E B

2 . T h i s fac t , i ron ica l ly , m a y b e r e l a t e d t o s o m e o f t h e i r b l e m i s h e s . I t m a y b e t h a t t h e c r i m i n a l s a n d

s p a m m e r s t h r i v e i n t h e s e s p a c e s b e c a u s e they , too , a r e a b l e t o b e m o r e i n n o v a t i v e a t t h e i r t r a d e s .

3 . S e c t i o n s o f t h e a r g u m e n t t h a t f o l l o w s w i l l b e f a m i l i a r t o a n v o n e w h o h a s s p e n t t b e l a s t d e c a d e

o r t w o e x p l o r i n g t h e n e w p o s s i b i l i t y s p a c e s o f t h e W e b . I l a s t w r o t e a b o u t t h e W'eb i n b o o k f o r m

t e n y e a r s a g o ; s i n c e t h a t t i m e , a m a r v e l o u s c o m m u n i t y o f e n t r e p r e n e u r t h e o r i s t s h a s m a t e r i a l -

i z e d , c a p a b l e o f p u s h i n g t h e b o u n d a r i e s o f t h e m e d i u m , a n d a t t h e s a m e t i m e r e f l e c t i n g o n w h a t

t h o s e a d v a n c e s m i g h t m e a n . W e h a v e , a l l o f u s , s e e n f i r s t h a n d h o w i n n o v a t i v e a s p a c e t b e W e b

c a n b e , a n d w e h a v e a s s e m b l e d a g r e a t d e a l o f l o c a l k n o w l e d g e a b o u t t h e f o r c e s t h a t m a k e t h a t

i n n o v a t i o n p o s s i b l e . I n a s s e m b l i n g t h e s e v e n p a t t e r n s o f i n n o v a t i o n , I h a v e t r i e d t o o r g a n i z e t h a t

k n o w l e d g e i n t o p r o d u c t i v e c a t e g o r i e s , a n d I h o p e I h a v e p r o v i d e d a f e w i n s i g h t s i n t o h o w t h e

W'eb w o r k s t h a t w i l l s u r p r i s e t h e n a t i v e s . B u t e v e n t h e m o s t d e v o t e d c r o w d - s o u r c i n g , m i c r o b l o g -

g m g W i k i p e d i a - h e a d h a s d o u b t s a b o u t h o w p o r t a b l e t h e W'eb e x p e r i e n c e i s t o r e a l - w o r l d i n -

n o v a t i o n e n v i r o n m e n t s . J u s t b e c a u s e t h e p a t t e r n s w o r k for G o o g l e d o e s n ' t m e a n t h a t t h e y a r e

r e l e v a n t f o r a n u n d e r s t a f f e d n o n p r o f i t ^ o r a u t o - p a r t s m a n u f a c t u r e r , o r c i t y g o v e r n m e n t . A n d s o

o n e w a y t o t h i n k a b o u t t h e p a g e s t h a t f o l l o w i s a s a n a r g u m e n t t h a t t h e p a r t i c u l a r m a g i c t h a t

w e h a v e s e e n o n t h e W e b h a s a l o n g h i s t o r y t h a t p r e d a t e s t h e W e b a n d c a n b e r e p r o d u c e d i n

o t h e r e n v i r o n m e n t s .

17

m e a n s . ( T h i n k o f c r i m e ra tes in b i g ci t ies, o r t he exp los ion o f s p a m onl ine. ) B u t bo th the city a n d the Web possess an u n d e n i a b l e t r ack record a t g e n e r a t i n g innovation.^ In the s a m e w a y the '^myriad t iny

a rch i tec t s" o f D a r w i n ' s cora l r e e f c rea te an e n v i r o n m e n t whe re

b io logica l innova t ion can flourish. I f we wan t to u n d e r s t a n d whe re

good ideas c o m e f rom, we h a v e to pu t t h e m in context , D a r w i n ' s

wor ld-chan^ino; i d e a unfo lded ins ide his b ra in , but t h ink of a l l t he

env i ronmen t s a n d tools he n e e d e d to p iece i t together : a ship , an

a r ch ipe l ago , a notebook, a l ibrary, a coral reef. O u r t h o u g h t shapes

the spaces w^e inhabi t , a n d our spaces r e tu rn the favor. T h e a r g u -

m e n t of this book is tha t a ser ies of sha red proper t i es a n d pa t t e rns

recur a g a i n a n d a g a i n in unusua l ly fer t i le env i ronments , I have

dis t i l led t h e m down into seven pat terns , each one occupy ing a sep-

a ra t e chapter. T h e m o r e w^e e m b r a c e these p a t t e r n s i n our p r iva t e

work hab i t s a n d hobbies , in our office env i ronmen t s , in t he d e s i g n

of n e w sof tware t o o l s t h e bet ter we wil l be a t t a p p i n g our ext raor-

d inary capaci ty for innova t ive thinking.^

S T E V E N J O H N S O N

18

T h e s e pa t te rns tu rn out to have a l ong history, m u c h older

t h a n m o s t of t he s y s t e m s tha t w^e convent ional ly assoc ia te wi th in-

novat ion . T h i s h is tory is par t icu la r ly r ich because i t i s not e x c l u -

s ively l im i t ed to h u m a n crea t ions l ike the In te rne t o r t he m e t r o p o -

l is . T h e ampl i f i ca t ion a n d adop t ion o f useful innova t ion exis t

t h r o u g h o u t natural h is tory as wel l . Cora l reefs a r e s o m e t i m e s ca l led

the "c i t ies of t he sea , " a n d par t o f t he a r g u m e n t of th i s book i s tha t

we need to t a k e the m e t a p h o r seriously: t he r ee f e cosys t em i s so

innovat ive in its exp lo i t a t ion of those nu t r ien t -poor wa te r s because

i t s h a r e s s o m e de f in ing charac ter i s t ics wi th a c t u a l cit ies. In t he l a n -

g u a g e o f c o m p l e x i t y theory, t hese pa t t e rns o f innova t ion a n d cre-

at ivi ty a re fractal : they r e a p p e a r in r ecogn izab l e f o r m as you zoom

in a n d out, f rom m o l e c u l e to neuron to p ixe l to s idewalk . Whe the r

you ' r e l ook ing a t the or ig ina l innovat ions of c a r b o n - b a s e d life, or

t he exp los ion o f n e w sof tware tools on the Web, t he s a m e shapes

keep t u r n i n g up . W h e n life ge t s creat ive , i t h a s a t endency to g rav -

i ta te t oward cer ta in r ecu r r i ng pat terns , whe the r those pa t t e rns a re

e m e r g e n t a n d se l f -organiz ing , o r whe ther they a re de l ibera te ly

craf ted by h u m a n agen ts .

I t m a y s e e m odd to t a lk about such different r eg ions o f exper i -

ence as t h o u g h they w e r e i n t e r changeab l e . B u t in fact, we a re con-

s tant ly m a k i n g equ iva l en t concep tua l l eaps f rom bio logy to cu l ture

w i thou t b l ink ing . I t i s not a f i g u r e of speech to say tha t t he pa t t e rn

o f compe t i t i on " a t e r m often assoc ia ted wi th i n n o v a t i o n p l a y s

a cri t ical ro le in t h e behav ior of m a r k e t p l a c e s , in t he in teract ion

be tween a s w a r m of s p e r m cells a n d an egg , a n d in t he ecosys t em-

sca l e bat t le be tween o r g a n i s m s for f ini te e n e r g y sources. We a r e not

u s i n g a m e t a p h o r of e c o n o m i c compe t i t i on to descr ibe the s t r u g g l e s

o f those s p e r m cells: t he m e a n i n g of t he w o r d " c o m p e t i t i o n " i s

R E E F , C I T Y , W E B

19

w i d e (or pe rhaps d e e p ) e n o u g h to e n c o m p a s s s p e r m cells and cor-pora t ions . T h e s a m e p r inc ip le app l i e s to t he seven pa t t e rns I h a v e

a s s e m b l e d here .

T r a v e l i n g across t hese different env i ronmen t s a n d scales i s no t

m e r e l y in te l lec tua l tou r i sm. S c i e n c e l ong a g o rea l i zed tha t we can

u n d e r s t a n d s o m e t h i n g bet ter by s tudy ing its behav io r in different

contexts . W h e n we w a n t to answer a ques t ion l ike "Why h a s the

W e b been so innova t ive?" we na tura l ly invoke t h o u g h t s o f its c re -

ators, a n d the workspaces , o rgan iza t ions , a n d in fo rmat ion ne tworks

they u s e d in b u i l d i n g it. B u t i t tu rns out tha t we can answer the

ques t ion m o r e comprehens ive ly i f we d raw a n a l o g i e s t o pa t t e rns o f

innovat ion tha t we see in ecosys t ems like D a r w i n ' s cora l reef, or in

t he s t ruc ture o f t he h u m a n bra in . We have no s h o r t a g e o f theor ies

to ins t ruc t us how to m a k e our o rgan iza t ions m o r e creat ive , o r ex -

p l a in w h y t ropica l r a in forests e n g i n e e r so m u c h m o l e c u l a r diver-

sity. W h a t we lack is a un i f i ed theory tha t descr ibes t he c o m m o n

a t t r ibutes s h a r e d by all those innova t ion sys t ems . W h y is a coral

r e e f s u c h an e n g i n e o f b io log ica l innova t ion? W h y do ci t ies have

such an ex tens ive his tory o f i d e a c rea t ion? W h y w a s D a r w i n able to

h i t u p o n a theory tha t so m a n y br i l l i an t c o n t e m p o r a r i e s of h i s

m i s s e d ? No doub t t he re a r e pa r t i a l a n s w e r s t o these ques t ions tha t

a re u n i q u e to each s i tuat ion, and each sca le : the ecologica l h i s tory

of t he reef; the soc io logy of u rban life; t he in te l lec tual b iog raphy of

a scientist . B u t the a r g u m e n t of this book is that there are other, m o r e

interest ing answers that are appl icable to all three situations, a n d that

by approach ing the p r o b l e m in this fractal, cross-discipl inary way,

n e w ins igh t s b e c o m e v is ib le . W a t c h i n g the ideas spark on these

different scales r evea l s pa t t e rns that s ing le - sca le obse rva t ions eas i ly

m i s s o r unde rva lue .

S T E V E N J O H N S O N

I cal l tha t v a n t a g e poin t t h e long zoom. I t can be i m a g i n e d as

a k i n d of hourg la s s :

global evolution ecosystems

species brains

cells

na ture

cul ture

ideas w o r k s p a c e s

organizat ions se t t l ements

informat ion networks

As y o u descend toward the center o f t he g lass , t he b io log ica l

scales contract: f rom the g loba l , deep t i m e of evolut ion to t he mic ro -

scopic e x c h a n g e s of neurons or D N A , At t he center o f the g l a s s , the

perspec t ive shifts f rom na tu r e to cul ture , and the scales widen: f rom

ind iv idua l t hough t s a n d pr iva te workspaces to i m m e n s e cities a n d

g lobal informat ion networks. W h e n we look a t the history of innova-

t ion f rom the v a n t a g e poin t o f t he l ong zoom, wha t we f ind i s tha t

tmusua l ly gene ra t ive env i ronmen t s d isp lay s imi la r pat terns o f cre-

at ivi ty a t mt i l t ip le scales s i m u l t a n e o u s l y You can ' t e x p l a i n the bio-

divers i ty of t he coral r ee f by s imp ly s tudy ing the gene t ics of t he

coral itself. T h e r e e f gene ra t e s a n d sus ta ins so m a n y different fo rms

of l ife because of pa t t e rns that recur on the scales of cells , o rgan-

20

R E E F , C I T Y , W E B

21

i sms , a n d the wider ecosys tem itself. T h e sources o f innovat ion in

t he city a n d the Web a re equa l ly fractal . In this sense , s ee ing the

p rob lem of innovat ion f rom the l o n g - z o o m perspec t ive does not just g ive t i s n e w m e t a p h o r s . It gives us new Jucts.

T h e pa t te rn o f " c o m p e t i t i o n " i s an exce l len t case in point .

E v e r y e c o n o m i c s t ex tbook will te l l y o u t h a t compe t i t i on be tween

r ival f i r m s l eads to innovat ion in thei r products a n d services. B u t

w h e n you look a t innova t ion f rom the l o n g - z o o m perspec t ive , c o m -

pet i t ion tu rns out to be less central to t he his tory of good ideas t h a n

we g e n e r a l l y th ink. A n a l y z i n g innova t ion on the sca l e o f ind iv idu-

a ls a n d o r g a n i z a t i o n s a s the s t a n d a r d t ex tbooks d o d i s t o r t s our

view. I t creates a p ic ture of innova t ion that overs ta tes t he ro le of

p ropr ie t a ry r e s e a r c h a n d " su rv iva l o f t he f i t tes t" compe t i t ion . T h e

l o n g - z o o m approach le ts us see that openness a n d connect iv i ty may,

in the end , be m o r e v a l u a b l e to innovat ion t han pure ly compe t i t ive

m e c h a n i s m s . T h o s e pa t t e rns o f innovat ion dese rve r e c o g n i t i o n i n

p a r t b e c a u s e it 's in t r ins ica l ly i m p o r t a n t to u n d e r s t a n d why g o o d

ideas e m e r g e historically, a n d in par t b e c a u s e by e m b r a c i n g these

pa t te rns we can bu i ld env i ronmen t s that do a better job of nur tu r ing good ideas , whe ther those e n v i r o n m e n t s a r e schools , g o v e r n m e n t s ,

sof tware p la t fo rms , poe t ry s e m i n a r s , o r social m o v e m e n t s . We c a n

th ink m o r e crea t ive ly i f w e open our m i n d s t o t he m a n y connec ted

env i ronmen t s tha t m a k e creat ivi ty poss ib le .

T h e a c a d e m i c l i t e ra ture on innova t ion a n d creat ivi ty i s r ich

w i t h sub t le d is t inc t ions b e t w e e n innova t ions a n d invent ions , be -

tween different m o d e s of creat ivi ty: art ist ic, scientif ic, t echno log i -

cal, I have de l ibera te ly chosen the broades t poss ib le p h r a s i n g g o o d

i d e a s t o s u g g e s t t he c ross-d isc ip l inary v a n t a g e poin t I am t ry ing

to occupy. T h e good ideas in th i s survey r a n g e f rom sof tware p la t -

S T E V E N J O H N S O N

22

fo rms to m u s i c a l g e n r e s to scient if ic p a r a d i g m s to n e w m o d e l s for

gove rnmen t . My p r e m i s e i s that t he re i s a s m u c h v a l u e to be found

in s e e k i n g the c o m m o n proper t ies across all t hese va r i ed f o r m s

of innova t ion a n d creat ivi ty as there is va lue to be found in docu-

m e n t i n g the d i f ferences b e t w e e n t h e m . T h e poe t a n d the eng inee r

( a n d the coral r ee f ) m a y s e e m a m i l l i o n m i l e s apar t in thei r par-t icular f o r m s o f exper t i se , bu t when they b r i ng g o o d ideas into the

world , s imi la r pa t te rns o f deve lopmen t a n d col labora t ion s h a p e tha t

process .

I f there i s a s ing le m a x i m that r u n s t h rough th i s book 's a r g u -

men t s , i t is that we a re often better se rved by connecting ideas thtin

we a re by protect ing t h e m . L i k e the free m a r k e t itself, t he case for

restr ic t ing the flow of innovat ion has l ong been but t ressed by appea l s

to the "na tu r a l " order of th ings . B u t the t ru th is, when one looks a t

innovat ion in na ture a n d in cul ture, env i ronments that bu i ld wa l l s

a round good ideas tend to be less innovat ive in the long run t han

m o r e open-ended environments . G o o d ideas m a y not wan t to be free,

bu t they do w a n t to connect, fuse, r ecombine . T h e y wan t to re invent

t hemse lves by cross ing conceptual borders . T h e y w a n t to comple t e

each other as m u c h as they wan t to compe te .

I.

T H E A D J A C E N

P O S S I B L E

So m e t i m e in t he l a t e 1870s, a P a r i s i a n obs te t r ic ian n a m e d S t -p h a n e T a r n i e r took a day off f rom his work a t M a t e r n i t de Par i s , t he ly ing- in hospi ta l for t he city 's poor w o m e n , a n d p a i d a

vis i t to t he nea rby Pa r i s Zoo. W a n d e r i n g pas t t h e e l ephan t s a n d

rep t i les a n d c lass ical g a r d e n s o f t he zoo's h o m e ins ide the J a rd in des

P lan tes , T a r n i e r s t u m b l e d across an exh ib i t o f ch icken incubators .

S e e i n g the ha t ch l ings tot ter abou t i n t he incubator ' s w a r m enc lo-

sure t r i g g e r e d an associa t ion in his head , a n d before l ong he h a d

h i r e d Odi l e M a r t i n , the zoo's pou l t ry raiser, to cons t ruc t a dev ice

tha t w o u l d pe r fo rm a s imi la r function for h u m a n newborns . By m o d -

e rn s t anda rds , in fan t m o r t a l i t y w a s s t a g g e r i n g l y h igh in t he la te

n ine teen th century, even in a city as sophis t i ca ted as Par is , One in

five bab i e s d i ed before l e a r n i n g to crawl, a n d the odds w e r e far

w o r s e for p r e m a t u r e bab ies born wi th low bi r th weights . T a r n i e r

k n e w tha t t e m p e r a t u r e r egu la t i on w a s cri t ical for k e e p i n g these

infants a l ive , a n d he k n e w tha t t he F r e n c h m e d i c a l e s t ab l i shmen t

h a d a deep - sea t ed obsess ion wi th stat ist ics. A n d so as soon as h i s

new^born incuba tor h a d b e e n ins ta l l ed a t M a t e r n i t , t he f rag i le in-

S T E V E N J O H N S O N

26

fants w a r m e d by hot wate r bot t les be low the wooden boxes , Ta rn i e r

e m b a r k e d on a quick s tudy of five h u n d r e d babies . T h e resu l t s

shocked the P a r i s i a n m e d i c a l e s t ab l i shmen t : whi le 66 percen t o f

l ow-we igh t bab ies d i ed wi th in w e e k s o f bir th , only 58 percen t d i ed

i f t hey were h o u s e d in Ta rn ie r ' s i ncuba t i ng box. You could effec-

t ively h a l v e the m o r t a l i t y ra te for p r e m a t u r e bab ies s i m p l y by treat-

i n g t h e m l ike h a t c h l i n g s in a zoo.

Tarnier ' s incubator w a s not t he first device emp loyed for w a r m -

ing newborns , a n d the contrapt ion he bui l t wi th M a r t i n would be

improved upon significantly in the subsequen t decades. B u t Tarn ie r ' s

statistical analys is gave newborn incubat ion the push that i t needed:

wi th in a few years , t he Pa r i s m u n i c i p a l boa rd requ i red that incuba-

tors be ins ta l led in all t he city's ma te rn i t y hospi tals . In 1896, an

enterpr is ing phys ic ian n a m e d Alexand re L i o n set up a display of

i ncuba to r swi th live n e w b o r n s a t the Ber l in Ejcposition. D u b b e d the Kinderbrutenstalt, or "ch i ld hatchery," L ion ' s exhibi t t u rned out

to be the s leeper hi t of the exposi t ion, a n d l a u n c h e d a b izarre t ra-

dition of incubator s ideshows tha t pers i s ted wel l in to the twent i -

eth century. (Coney Isltind h a d a p e r m a n e n t baby incubator show unt i l the ear ly 1940s,) M o d e r n incubators , s u p p l e m e n t e d wi th h igh -oxygen the rapy a n d other advances , b e c a m e s t andard e q u i p m e n t in

all A m e r i c a n hospi ta l s after the end of World W a r II , t r i gge r ing a

spectacular 75 percent dec l ine in infant mor ta l i ty ra tes be tween 1950

and 1998. B e c a u s e incubators focus exclus ive ly on the b e g i n n i n g of

l ife, their benefi t to publ ic h e a l t h m e a s u r e d by the sheer n u m b e r

of ex t ra years they p rov ideriva l s any med ica l advance of t he twen-

t ie th century. R a d i a t i o n the rapy or a doub le bypass m i g h t g ive y o u

another decade or two, but an incubator gives y o u an ent i re l i fe t ime.

In t he deve lop ing world, however, the infant mor t a l i t y s tory

T H E A D J A C E N T P O S S I B L E

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r e m a i n s b leak . Wl ie reas infant dea ths a re be low ten p e r t housand

bir ths th roughou t E u r o p e and the U n i t e d Sta tes , over a h u n d r e d

infants d ie per thousand in countr ies l ike L i b e r i a and Eth iop ia , m a n y

of t h e m p r e m a t u r e babies tha t w o u l d have survived wi th access to

incubators . B u t m o d e r n incubators a re complex , expens ive th ings , A

s t andard incubator in an A m e r i c a n hospi ta l m i g h t cost m o r e than

$40 ,000 . B u t the expense i s a rguab ly the smal le r hu rd le to overcome.

C o m p l e x e q u i p m e n t breaks , a n d when i t b r eaks y o u need the techni-

cal exper t i se to f ix it, a n d y o u need r e p l a c e m e n t parts . In t he year

that fol lowed the 2 0 0 4 Ind ian Ocean t s u n a m i , t he Indones i an city o f

M e u l a b o h received e igh t incuba tors f rom a r a n g e of in ternat ional

re l ie f organizat ions. By late 2008 , w h e n tin M I T professor n a m e d

T i m o t h y Pres tero vis i ted the hospi ta l , all e igh t we re out of order, t he

v i c t ims of power surges a n d tropical humidi ty , a l o n g wi th the hos-

pital s t a f f s inabil i ty t o r e a d the E n g l i s h repai r m a n u a l . T h e M e u l a -

b o h incuba tors were a representa t ive s a m p l e : s o m e s tudies s u g g e s t

tha t as m u c h as 95 percent o f m e d i c a l t echno logy donated to devel-

o p i n g countr ies b r eaks wi th in the first five years of use .

Pres te ro h a d a ves ted in te res t in those broken incubators , be -

cause the o rgan iza t ion h e founded , D e s i g n tha t M a t t e r s , h a d b e e n

w o r k i n g for severa l yea r s on a n e w s c h e m e for a m o r e re l iab le , a n d

less expens ive , incubator , one tha t r e cogn ized c o m p l e x m e d i c a l

t echno logy w a s l ikely to have a very different t e n u r e in a deve lop-

i n g wor ld context t han i t would in an A m e r i c a n or E u r o p e a n hos-

p i ta l . D e s i g n i n g an incuba to r for a d e v e l o p i n g count ry wasn ' t jus t a m a t t e r of c rea t ing s o m e t h i n g tha t worked; i t w a s also a m a t t e r of

d e s i g n i n g s o m e t h i n g tha t w o u l d b r e a k in a non-ca tas t rophic way.

You couldn ' t g u a r a n t e e a s teady supply of s p a r e par ts , or t r a ined

r epa i r t echnic ians . So ins tead , P res t e ro a n d h i s t e a m dec ided t o

S T E V E N J O H N S O N

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b u i l d an incuba tor out o f par t s that we re a l r e a d y a b u n d a n t in t he

d e v e l o p i n g world. T h e i d e a h a d o r ig ina ted wi th a Bos ton doctor

n a m e d J o n a t h a n R o s e n , who h a d obse rved tha t even the s m a l l e r

t owns o f t he d e v e l o p i n g wor ld s e e m e d to be able to k e e p a u t o m o -

bi les i n w o r k i n g order. T h e towns m i g h t have l acked a i r condi t ion-

i n g a n d lap tops a n d cable te levis ion, but they m a n a g e d to keep thei r

Toyota 4 R u n n e r s on the road. So R o s e n a p p r o a c h e d Pres te ro wi th

an idea : W h a t i f you m a d e an incuba tor out o f a u t o m o b i l e par t s?

T h r e e yea r s after R o s e n s u g g e s t e d the idea , t he D e s i g n tha t

M a t t e r s t e a m in t roduced a pro to type device ca l l ed t h e N e o N u r t u r e ,

F r o m the outs ide , i t l ooked l ike a s t r e a m l i n e d m o d e r n incubator ,

b u t its gu t s w e r e a u t o m o t i v e . S e a l e d - b e a m h e a d l i g h t s s u p p l i e d the

crucial w a r m t h ; d a s h b o a r d fans p rov ided f i l tered a i r c i rculat ion;

door c h i m e s sounded a l a r m s . You could power the device v i a an

a d a p t e d c iga re t t e l ighter, or a s t anda rd - i s sue mo to rcyc l e battery.

B u i l d i n g the N e o N u r t u r e out o f car pa r t s w a s doubly efficient, be -

cause i t t a p p e d both the local supply o f par t s t h e m s e l v e s a n d the

local k n o w l e d g e o f a u t o m o b i l e repair . T h e s e were bo th a b u n d a n t

resources in t he d e v e l o p i n g wor ld context , as R o s e n l iked to say. You

didn*t have to be a t r a i n e d m e d i c a l t echn ic i an to fix t he N e o N u r -

ture ; y o u didn ' t even h a v e to r e a d the m a n u a l . You just n e e d e d to k n o w how to r ep lace a broken head l igh t .

G o o d ideas a re l ike the N e o N u r t u r e device . T h e y a re , inev i ta -

bly, cons t ra ined by the par t s a n d ski l ls that su r round t h e m . We have

a na tu ra l t endency to roman t i c i ze b r e a k t h r o u g h innovat ions , i m a g -

in ing m o m e n t o u s ideas t r a n s c e n d i n g thei r su r round ings , a g i f t ed

m i n d s o m e h o w s e e i n g over t he det r i tus o f old i deas a n d oss i f ied

t rad i t ion . B u t ideas a re works o f b r i co lage ; they ' r e bu i l t out o f tha t

detr i tus. We t ake the ideas w e ' v e inhe r i t ed or tha t w^eVe s t u m b l e d