Thursday, April 29, 2010

Innovation, Intellectual Property & Politics

Politicians do not know innovation or how innovation comes about. They know how to take ideas from others without permission and without giving due credit. Their love for power is so strong that they will stop at nothing to get ahead, even at the expense of their own integrity.

Innovation comes from thinking out of the box and pursuing fringe ideas until that which is not known becomes explanable and repeatable.

Innovation comes from years of devoting oneself to a way of thinking that takes out out of the mainstream and into the realm where ordinary people do not or cannot understand you - so that you can show to your own satisfaction that indeed you are different and in fact significantly different so that you may be considered unique in the world of ordinariness or to use an oft misunderstood word, mediocrity.

The tao man treasures mediocrity but the zen man thrives on nothingness.

It is the man of the world who immerses himself in a world full of modifications in order to be different, nay, delibrately creating differences where none exists in order that claims of uniqueness can be exerted.

It is therefore odd that people with no inventiveness of mind tend to enforce differences which do not exist in order that they can extract from others the fruit of their creativity and innovativeness in order just to stay alive and relevant in order to capitalise those the claims of uniqueness in the commercial market place.

But genuine uniqueness and creativity emanates from the heart and soul of people who choose not to waste their precious time engaging in trivial but slowly and carefully, dot by dot, line by line, chart out new territorities of the mind in ideas which can take the world by storm. Innovation is the product of the blood and sweat and to steal them and not giving due credit is therefore a despicable act.

Most people would not wish to hurt themselves, even if they could think, in order that they do not put themselves in situations where they could not forgive the traversity done on them and destroy their lives.

When the environment is not right for innovation, there will be no innovation. Innovation will go where the environment is conducive for ownership rights of innovation to be kept.

All efforts are innovation, not matter how small those differences may be. Someone who works is more innovative than someone who does not work. Someone who works better is more innovative than someone who works disgruntedly. Etc.

It is therefore unlikely that politicians are the right people to talk about innovation or encourage it, because they do not know what they talk about. Politicians do not talk innovatively; they merely dilute the substance of the things they say.

I would like to leave innovation to the ingenuity of private individuals, while the system gives the people the right to the fruit of their own labour.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

"The tao man treasures mediocrity"

This is inaccurate.

In Taoism, the mediocrity and the opposite of mediocrity are yin and yang of a whole. One cannot exist without the other and are yet the same.

Taoist focus on ONENESS/UNITY with the SOURCE/UNiverse/etc, philosophically.

But there are a lot of deity veneration through the ages as HUMANS need external objects to focus on.

TQ.

etheorist said...

You are right and you are not right.

Anonymous said...

Essentially, being "right" and "not right" is the same thing. You need to have a right for a not right, and vice versa. What being right is is the same as being not right.

BTW, Zen is Buddhism, with Taoist influence. "Nothingness" is a Taoist concept and describes being One with the Source, etc.

It is Buddhism that peddles the Middle Path.

Anyway, understanding of Taoism/Zen Buddhism is only possible via intuition/knowing. Not logical arguments.

All the best.
Tx.

Anonymous said...

At least admit you attributed wrong ideas to Zen and Taoism.

Cheers.

Anonymous said...

Actually "You are right and you are not right" sounds like a Zen Koan.

Meditate on it, and maybe you'll understand.

walla said...

Knowing limits of human knowledge and vagaries of human emotion, tao and zen are distressed by the need to be proven something. But some may say this is too sufistic.