The Innovation Delusion
by Lee Vinsel, Andrew L. Russell · first published 2020
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4HN commenters
2020–2025first – last mentioned
100% recommend
"For forty years, innovation has been the hottest buzzword in business. But what if the benefits of innovation have been exaggerated, and our obsession with the new has distracted us from the work that matters most? It's hard to avoid innovation these days. Nearly every product gets marketed as being disruptive, whether it's a new technology or a new toothbrush. But in this manifesto on the state of American work, historians of technology Lee Vinsel and Andrew Russell argue that our focus on shiny new things has made us poorer, less safe, and--ironically--less innovative. Drawing on years of o
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…technologies persist, and the ethic and duty of maintaining them. Specifically: David Edgerton, The Shock of the Old: Technology and Global History Since 1900 (2006). Andrew L. Russell and Lee Vinsel, The Innovation Delusion: How Our Obsession with the New Has Disrupted the Work That Matters Most (2020). You won’t agree with everything in those books, but they will make you think deeply about old technologies and the stories…
on “COBOL underpins the entire financial system” ↗I am on your same wavelength. Props to you for pursuing this mentality. I believe you would enjoy the book “The Innovation Delusion” by Vinsel and Russell
on “The Disappearing Art of Maintenance” ↗For the folks that wants a structured reference around maintenance, this book [1] it's one of the best of the topic. [1] - The Innovation Delusion: How Our Obsession with the New Has Disrupted the Work That Matters Most - https://a.co/d/eInjwZD
on “Ease of maintenance is a feature” ↗…of wildfires becomes much more tractable. Or for example, a culture of maintenance (forests, power infrastructure, infrastructure fireproofing, risk preparedness, etc.), like outlined in the book "The Innovation Delusion," could very well reduce risk a considerable amount. Unfortunately our civilization is too much stuck in its traditional ways to consider such solutions.
on “Is the world becoming uninsurable?” ↗A review of a new book called The Innovation Delusion by Lee Vinsel and Andrew Russell
on “Silicon Valley turned true innovation into an overhyped delusion” ↗