Nowotny

Hello Drew and Alicia,

You make some very good points about how the quest for innovation is strong because of the feedback loop that has been created. Do you think that we'll ever run out of innovations because it does not better human society? For instance, Blu-ray / High Def., do you think they'll ever improve the image quality of these? I "heard" that there would be no point to further the innovations of TV screens in terms of image quality because the human eye cannot see any better. Maybe instead of the TV screen, we'll start working on the eye itself! To not have to wear glasses/contacts would be great! It's amazing when we look at the history of such an innovation that has been re-invented over and over again. (Read the Moody article from Module 6 about the progress of television - very interesting read and I believe connected to Nowotny's concept of innovation).

I love how our Modules are starting to connect and build upon each other!

In regards to the statement, "Illustrate why you think that the quest for innovation at the beginning of the 21st century has become such an obsession," I would contend that the quest for innovation is an innate part of humanity that has always been and always will be a part of us. Farming traces its origins to various ancient civilizations and created a revolution in the hunter-gatherer societies of the time. Furthermore, the development of ancient tools and weapons was a process based on innovation, examination, and scrutiny. Therefore, to say that our quest of innovation became an obession in this past century is simply incorrect.

The primary difference between the present day and the past in terms of innovation is that our lines of communication and collaboration are now instantaneous. Knowledge can be stored, documented, and shared through electronic media and the internet, which were unavailable in the past. Additionally, the sciences involving human psychology, sociology, education, philosophy, and educational technology profer entirely new networks of people and resources for understandings of ourselves and our capabilities. As such, the role of innovation in our society in the digital age is less tangible in the physical sense but nonetheless relevant to our quest for truth, understanding, and creation.