How Innovation Works
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- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Matt Ridley
- ISBN：0008334846
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Summary
‘Ridley is spot-on when it comes to the vital ingredients for success’ Sir James Dyson
Building on his bestseller The Rational Optimist， Matt Ridley chronicles the history of innovation， and how we need to change our thinking on the subject。
Innovation is the main event of the modern age， the reason we experience both dramatic improvements in our living standards and unsettling changes in our society。 It is innovation that will shape the twenty-first century。 Yet innovation remains a mysterious process， poorly understood by policy makers and businessmen alike。
Matt Ridley argues that we need to see innovation as an incremental， bottom-up， fortuitous process that happens as a direct result of the human habit of exchange， rather than an orderly， top-down process developing according to a plan。 Innovation is crucially different from invention， because it is the turning of inventions into things of practical and affordable use to people。 It speeds up in some sectors and slows down in others。 It is always a collective， collaborative phenomenon， involving trial and error， not a matter of lonely genius。 It still cannot be modelled properly by economists， but it can easily be discouraged by politicians。 Far from there being too much innovation， we may be on the brink of an innovation famine。
Ridley derives these and other lessons from the lively stories of scores of innovations – from steam engines to search engines – how they started and why they succeeded or failed。
Building on his bestseller The Rational Optimist， Matt Ridley chronicles the history of innovation， and how we need to change our thinking on the subject。
Innovation is the main event of the modern age， the reason we experience both dramatic improvements in our living standards and unsettling changes in our society。 It is innovation that will shape the twenty-first century。 Yet innovation remains a mysterious process， poorly understood by policy makers and businessmen alike。
Matt Ridley argues that we need to see innovation as an incremental， bottom-up， fortuitous process that happens as a direct result of the human habit of exchange， rather than an orderly， top-down process developing according to a plan。 Innovation is crucially different from invention， because it is the turning of inventions into things of practical and affordable use to people。 It speeds up in some sectors and slows down in others。 It is always a collective， collaborative phenomenon， involving trial and error， not a matter of lonely genius。 It still cannot be modelled properly by economists， but it can easily be discouraged by politicians。 Far from there being too much innovation， we may be on the brink of an innovation famine。
Ridley derives these and other lessons from the lively stories of scores of innovations – from steam engines to search engines – how they started and why they succeeded or failed。
Reviews
Alexander
，
Добра книга поне през първата половина。 Леко повърхностна но засяга важни теми за развитието на иновациите， съпротивата срещу тях и т。н。 последната четвърт не струва。
DoeJoe
，
He just lists things 。。。 like， that's pretty much it， why is this a book？ I mean， it was somewhat entertaining to listen to the various stories， but most of them are not at all original but simply copied from other books etc。 （'The Box'， 'The Innovators'， 'The Code Breaker'， 'Longitude'）And the hypotheses and theories he does state are in not properly defined， not reasonably argued for， in no way revolutionary， and often contradicted by later parts of the book。 I was kinda irritated by this book He just lists things 。。。 like， that's pretty much it， why is this a book？ I mean， it was somewhat entertaining to listen to the various stories， but most of them are not at all original but simply copied from other books etc。 （'The Box'， 'The Innovators'， 'The Code Breaker'， 'Longitude'）And the hypotheses and theories he does state are in not properly defined， not reasonably argued for， in no way revolutionary， and often contradicted by later parts of the book。 I was kinda irritated by this book tbh。 。。。more
Andrej Karpathy
，
Fun little stories and pop takes and tales on innovation。
Giovanni Mercatelli
，
I took many notes from this book， a good sign I believe。 I highly recommend it: first， it explores some of the most important innovations of all time， narrated in fluent chronological order， defying the common myths behind them。 While， in the second part of the book， it connects the dots behind the process of innovation: "innovation is the child of freedom and the parent of prosperity"， and "innovation happens when ideas have sex: when people meet and exchange goods"。 I took many notes from this book， a good sign I believe。 I highly recommend it: first， it explores some of the most important innovations of all time， narrated in fluent chronological order， defying the common myths behind them。 While， in the second part of the book， it connects the dots behind the process of innovation: "innovation is the child of freedom and the parent of prosperity"， and "innovation happens when ideas have sex: when people meet and exchange goods"。 。。。more
Kristi Panovska
，
Неиновативна книга， в която всяка втора дума е иновация， а всяка трета цитат от друг автор。 Единственото сравнително интересно нещо беше анализа на понятието в края на книгата。 Но не напълно， тъй като авторът оставя неприятното усещане， че е пристрастен към американските 'иновации' и корпорации като носители на новото。 Неиновативна книга， в която всяка втора дума е иновация， а всяка трета цитат от друг автор。 Единственото сравнително интересно нещо беше анализа на понятието в края на книгата。 Но не напълно， тъй като авторът оставя неприятното усещане， че е пристрастен към американските 'иновации' и корпорации като носители на новото。 。。。more
Dave Snowdon
，
Argues， fairly convincingly that rather than innovation being a flash of insight it's a process of trial an error which requires the freedom to iterate and learn from mistakes。 This explains， for example， why there is greater innovation in software than nuclear reactors。 Argues， fairly convincingly that rather than innovation being a flash of insight it's a process of trial an error which requires the freedom to iterate and learn from mistakes。 This explains， for example， why there is greater innovation in software than nuclear reactors。 。。。more
Bogdan
，
Great book！
Rob
，
This is an interesting book detailing why our obsession with invention can actually， in almost all circumstances， be re-framed as a continued process of innovation。 That rarely， almost never， does a genius sitting in their bath reach a conclusion theretofore never envisaged and change humanity; rather， people tinker with previous ideas or inventions， over and again， making them better， more fit for a purpose or possibly used for another purpose。 My main criticism of Matt Ridley’s writing is when This is an interesting book detailing why our obsession with invention can actually， in almost all circumstances， be re-framed as a continued process of innovation。 That rarely， almost never， does a genius sitting in their bath reach a conclusion theretofore never envisaged and change humanity; rather， people tinker with previous ideas or inventions， over and again， making them better， more fit for a purpose or possibly used for another purpose。 My main criticism of Matt Ridley’s writing is when he removes his science-historian hat and puts on his public policy hat。 He does this particularly egregiously with fracking， which he’s an advocate of and paid for in that industry。 I’d prefer just to hear about innovation without his politics。 This modern example—or the Theranos/Elizebeth Holmes story—whilst I see him attempting to do current topics， are possibly too modern to get a good objectivity that comes years or even decades after the event。 All in all an interesting book， well written and researched。 。。。more
Tauri Laane
，
First half of the book is a lot of examples from innovation in the past centuries and showing how there is not one big breakthrough， but always building on past successes。 Usually the original inventors die poor and spend their best years battling legal battles。 And while inventions are new technology， then real innovation is always bringing it to the masses （cheaper， more accessible etc）。 The latter half of the book shows examples how the western world （especially Europe Union） is stopping inno First half of the book is a lot of examples from innovation in the past centuries and showing how there is not one big breakthrough， but always building on past successes。 Usually the original inventors die poor and spend their best years battling legal battles。 And while inventions are new technology， then real innovation is always bringing it to the masses （cheaper， more accessible etc）。 The latter half of the book shows examples how the western world （especially Europe Union） is stopping innovation with laws and limitations - and how Asia and China are gaining up very fast （one might even say it has surpassed our world）。 The greatest recommendation from the author throughout this book is: don’t waste time on patents and fighting competition， but innovate， share， innovate some more。 You will be faster this way then the competition anyway。 。。。more
Tyler Critchfield
，
A solid overview of innovation。 Mostly filled with examples and then patterns common to them。 I enjoyed learning more about each story and then how they applied to innovation in general。 I appreciated the author didn't just stick to the typical instances many of us are familiar with。 He explores medicine， biogenetics， communication， transportation， etc。Main takeaways:- Innovation always takes time。 There are no eureka moments。- Serendipity is key， which means we need environments that give luck A solid overview of innovation。 Mostly filled with examples and then patterns common to them。 I enjoyed learning more about each story and then how they applied to innovation in general。 I appreciated the author didn't just stick to the typical instances many of us are familiar with。 He explores medicine， biogenetics， communication， transportation， etc。Main takeaways:- Innovation always takes time。 There are no eureka moments。- Serendipity is key， which means we need environments that give luck a chance。- We tend to over-hype new innovations in the short run and under-hype them in the long run。 - We expect innovation to mean new or better things when more often than not it means the same things/processes in less time or with fewer resources。- Ridley argues that patents and IP disputes actually limit innovation and should be done away with。 I'm not sure he explored this enough， but it is an interesting idea。A couple of thought-provoking passages related to modern science and innovation:In 1969 the physicist Robert Wilson， testifying to the US Senate about funding for a particle accelerator， was asked if it would contribute to national defense。 He replied， "It has nothing to do directly with defending our country， except to help make it worth defending。"There is no doubt that in recent years there has been a growing tendency among politicians to adopt the notion that science is the mother of invention and that this is the main justification for funding science。 This seems to me a pity。 Not just because it misreads history， but because it devalues science。 To reject the linear model is definitely not an attack on the funding of science， let alone on science itself。 Science is the greatest fruit of human achievement， bar none， and deserves rich and enthusiastic support in any civilized society， but as a worthwhile goal in its own right， not just as a way to encourage innovation。 Science should be seen as the fruit rather than the seed。 。。。more
Kang T。 Lee
，
This book talks about key characteristics of innovations and provide historic example of how innovation happens （foods， transport， communications， and more）。While chapter 1 to 6 are interesting and demonstrate important examples， but the key message of the book starts from chapter 8 till the end。 Here are some key messages:* Innovation happens gradually rather than a sudden Eureka moment （lightbulb， steam engine， airplane）* Innovation involves trial and error and is often accidental rather than This book talks about key characteristics of innovations and provide historic example of how innovation happens （foods， transport， communications， and more）。While chapter 1 to 6 are interesting and demonstrate important examples， but the key message of the book starts from chapter 8 till the end。 Here are some key messages:* Innovation happens gradually rather than a sudden Eureka moment （lightbulb， steam engine， airplane）* Innovation involves trial and error and is often accidental rather than planned。* Innovation happens in places where trade and exchange are frequency and not in isolated or underpopulated places。* Innovation cannot be force， it often comes at a right time when technology and environment are ready。 Often， innovation happens at different places around the same time （light bulb， steam engine， airplane， search engine）* Innovation is a bottom-up phenomenon - rather than plan or force by government which may restrict and strip freedom of creativity， innovations started by private sector rather than public。 * Regulations and intellectual properties often stifle innovations 。。。more
Burk
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A worthwhile read。 Well written， entertaining and thought provoking。
Nolan
，
This is a 10-star book in a five-star review system。 I enjoyed every page， and it left me better off and with more to think about than I had going in。 In the hands of a less talented writer， this could have been an academic tome that had a stuff-shirt boring style。 Instead， it was highly readable， interesting， easy to understand and to relate to。It's a fascinating book。Essentially it looks at innovation。 It defines it as the end result of numerous experiments， many of which end in error。 He poin This is a 10-star book in a five-star review system。 I enjoyed every page， and it left me better off and with more to think about than I had going in。 In the hands of a less talented writer， this could have been an academic tome that had a stuff-shirt boring style。 Instead， it was highly readable， interesting， easy to understand and to relate to。It's a fascinating book。Essentially it looks at innovation。 It defines it as the end result of numerous experiments， many of which end in error。 He points out that innovation can't flourish without liberty， and while China seems to be innovating now， that won't last where there is no freedom。You'll see great case studies， not his words， on innovation。 You'll read about everything from container ships to Morse Code and numerous other things equally or even more fascinating than these examples。I first heard of this book when a radio commentator interviewed the author several years ago。 I knew， based on that interview， that I needed to read the book。 I'm glad I did， and I hope you do。 。。。more
Karen
，
This book is full of stories but sadly， written in a boring and non-engaging manner。 The title is also misleading - the author doesn’t actually talk about how innovation works until over 200+ pages in and even when he attempts to， there were no breakthrough insights， just obvious statements we already know。 This was a disappointing read， compounded by the fact that the title and author seems to promise so much more。
Viktor Stoyanov
，
Учудващо неиновативна。Първа книга ми е от този автор。 Усещането ми след завършването е за човек， който е истински запален по други книги и други изследователи， но не представя своя изследователска гледна точка。 Поне 6 пъти се цитира Уолтър Айзъксън， като съм убеден， че се има предвид основно наистина добрата му "Иноваторите: Гениите， които изобретиха цифровото бъдеще"。Поне 2-3 пъти се цитира Vaclav Smil， като съм убеден， че се има предвид основно наистина добрата му Energy and Civilization: A Hi Учудващо неиновативна。Първа книга ми е от този автор。 Усещането ми след завършването е за човек， който е истински запален по други книги и други изследователи， но не представя своя изследователска гледна точка。 Поне 6 пъти се цитира Уолтър Айзъксън， като съм убеден， че се има предвид основно наистина добрата му "Иноваторите: Гениите， които изобретиха цифровото бъдеще"。Поне 2-3 пъти се цитира Vaclav Smil， като съм убеден， че се има предвид основно наистина добрата му Energy and Civilization: A History。Разказва се историята на биотех компанията Теранос 。。。 не всъщност се преразкава книгата на Джон Кариру "Лоша кръв: тайни и лъжи в един стартъп от Силициевата долина"。Не е цитиран， но съм сигурен и че някои неща са взаимствани от Харари （или от който там Харари е взаимствал） и тн。Щях да кажа， че поне книгата е добре структурирана， но 。。。 това важи до последната 1/3， когато плавното хронологично проследяване от парната машина до компютъра， продължава рязко в 。。。 земеделската революция。Освен това， авторът много яростно защитава анти-ЕС тезата， като свръхрегулатур - враг на всяка иновация。 Нормално за един англичанин， ще кажете， те нали си излязоха с Брекзит。Накрая се правят няколко прогнози за бъдещето， които са， да кажем - банални， меко казано。 Единствено донякъде ми хареса， защото по принцип обичам да чета по темата。 Дори и когато ми е като преразказ， на вече познати примери и заключения。 Но защо всъщност на някой му е необходим преразказа， когато има опцията за оригинала？Препоръка - ще остане за останалите споменати книги в ревюто。 Тази се оказва за мен учудващо неиновативна книга за иновациите。 。。。more
David
，
Learned about this book from Dawkins' "Flights of Fancy。" Almost a treatise on free-market capitalism but manages not to be Libertarian， if you can believe it。 Ridley even explicitly mentions that he's not advocating for a Libertarian free-market solution for innovation， particularly with food and drug regulation in addition to technology。 He does advocate for less bureaucratic red tape， and assails megacorporations for being too risk-averse。 Government regulation， he argues， should be more abou Learned about this book from Dawkins' "Flights of Fancy。" Almost a treatise on free-market capitalism but manages not to be Libertarian， if you can believe it。 Ridley even explicitly mentions that he's not advocating for a Libertarian free-market solution for innovation， particularly with food and drug regulation in addition to technology。 He does advocate for less bureaucratic red tape， and assails megacorporations for being too risk-averse。 Government regulation， he argues， should be more about the greater public good （safety and efficacy） than about appeasing the uninformed populace or even runaway environmentalism， which made me cringe a bit。 If Ridley gets salty at all， it's in reference to GMOs， which he sees no harm in whatsoever。 Again， GMOs may be mostly harmless， but I'm a bit more cautious than he is I guess。I guess his editorializing kept me from giving it a 5/5， and I can't help but wonder if he is at times a bit too flippant about ecological risk vs。 innovative reward。 。。。more
Iven Kobe
，
A book with history， philosophy of innovation and root cause of stagnation， learn for history and extract each value of history events， great
Jeffrey
，
Most excellent！
Jachin Friday
，
Excellent book， Ridley points out that innovation is a very mysterious process， not well studied by politicians or by economists。 He compares innovation to evolution， first discussing several stories about innovation， and then discussing themes that can be drawn from those stories。 He identifies several key traits about innovation: 1） it is serendipitous 2） it is often simultaneous 3） it shows up in wealthy， free countries 4） it is not necessarily enhanced by war， government directed research， o Excellent book， Ridley points out that innovation is a very mysterious process， not well studied by politicians or by economists。 He compares innovation to evolution， first discussing several stories about innovation， and then discussing themes that can be drawn from those stories。 He identifies several key traits about innovation: 1） it is serendipitous 2） it is often simultaneous 3） it shows up in wealthy， free countries 4） it is not necessarily enhanced by war， government directed research， or patents， and often， these things serve as obstacles to progress in the material 5） it is more about incremental change than about massive leaps 6） it is more about lots of anonymous people working hard on the same problem than lone geniuses getting brilliant ideas 7） the impact of innovation is overestimated in the short term and underestimated in the long term 8） it is hard to predict where and when it will happen， though it seems obvious in retrospect， giving the impression that it should have been easy 9） it does not always work 10） it has entrenched opposition， mostly from bureaucrats and industry incumbents and 11） it may be moving away from America to China， due to increased regulatory burdens and entrenched cultural opposition in the former。 。。。more
Littlefoot
，
Ridley's conclusions are not necessarily surprising， but the book does an excellent， excellent job of summing up the nature of innovation， specifically with regards to its serendipitous and combinatorial nature。 A lot of really good examples in this book I find myself referring to often in my PhD work Ridley's conclusions are not necessarily surprising， but the book does an excellent， excellent job of summing up the nature of innovation， specifically with regards to its serendipitous and combinatorial nature。 A lot of really good examples in this book I find myself referring to often in my PhD work 。。。more
Ola
，
Veldig fascinerende tema og mye god info， men skrevet litt kjedelig。
Kevin Comer
，
I very much appreciated the message that Ridley made the central tenet of this book - that innovation， rather than invention， has truly improved the world - and what precisely this means。 Innovation is not the child of one isolated genius， but the offspring of many seemingly unconnected strains of work， converging to solve interconnected problems。 This book pushes against the “great person of history” myth， while still making a convincing case， a la Millsian logic， that societies that welcome fa I very much appreciated the message that Ridley made the central tenet of this book - that innovation， rather than invention， has truly improved the world - and what precisely this means。 Innovation is not the child of one isolated genius， but the offspring of many seemingly unconnected strains of work， converging to solve interconnected problems。 This book pushes against the “great person of history” myth， while still making a convincing case， a la Millsian logic， that societies that welcome failing early and often and encourage the free exchange of ideas are the most ardent breading ground for innovation。 He not only defends his thesis by describing the cases where innovation did exist but， in true Popperian fashion， describing why there are certain fields that have not seen innovation （nuclear power most notably）。 The only point he makes that I do not believe he defended very well was that Communist China is where most innovation will occur because there’s only one stakeholder to impress， which seems to refute much of the argument he makes earlier in the book。 It is due to diverse priorities， ideas， and methods that a diverse society will breed much more innovation than an authoritarian， oppressively homogeneous one。 。。。more
Sakrita Maharjan
，
It is an informative book but has no voice or message to convey。 It is like a Wikipedia and although the stories and anecdotes are interesting， it doesn't leave room for the author's own viewpoints。 It is only okay。 It is an informative book but has no voice or message to convey。 It is like a Wikipedia and although the stories and anecdotes are interesting， it doesn't leave room for the author's own viewpoints。 It is only okay。 。。。more
Archie Santos
，
Listened to the audiobook。 Very interesting anecdotes of innovation， the author shared his opinions on the politics of rules and regulations etc。 Which was a bit off putting。 Still worth reading though。
Alex P
，
A great topic not done justice。 This book was difficult to read-it felt like one long essay that was carved up with headings later on to make it more readable。 But it just did not flow well。There was a lot of focus on past innovations but no mention of reusable rockets as used by SpaceX， surely the best current example of innovation。 In fact， the topic of space travel only had one page in the whole book。 And the only mention of Elon Musk was through his comparatively tiny Boring company that was A great topic not done justice。 This book was difficult to read-it felt like one long essay that was carved up with headings later on to make it more readable。 But it just did not flow well。There was a lot of focus on past innovations but no mention of reusable rockets as used by SpaceX， surely the best current example of innovation。 In fact， the topic of space travel only had one page in the whole book。 And the only mention of Elon Musk was through his comparatively tiny Boring company that was promptly dismissed as a failure。Regarding the author himself， he seemed like a know-it-all， frequently asserting himself with phrases like 'He was wrong'， 'This is a myth！' instead of presenting the evidence for the reader to decide for himself。 The afterword seemed only to serve as a way of congratulating himself on predicting Covid 19！There were some interesting passages but not nearly enough or ordered to allow for a flowing， enjoyable read。 。。。more
Rod Zinkel
，
Ripley’s survey of innovations （in technology， transportation， communications， energy， health， and food） is remarkable for the author’s observations and philosophy as well as the facts。 Ripley points out patterns to innovation in a variety of fields。 Some of his findings:“Innovation happens when people are free to think， experiment and speculate。”“…innovation is a team sport， a collective enterprise， far more than is generally recognized。”“…innovation is itself a product， the manufacturing of wh Ripley’s survey of innovations （in technology， transportation， communications， energy， health， and food） is remarkable for the author’s observations and philosophy as well as the facts。 Ripley points out patterns to innovation in a variety of fields。 Some of his findings:“Innovation happens when people are free to think， experiment and speculate。”“…innovation is a team sport， a collective enterprise， far more than is generally recognized。”“…innovation is itself a product， the manufacturing of which is a team effort requiring trial and error。” “…a great truth about innovation， that people underestimate its long-term impact。”Ripley’s tone in the book is optimistic， with citation of many ways the standard of living has improved with innovation， and predictions of possible improvements in the future。 I might take issue with some of his positive stances taken without much discussion of the issues – specifically genetic engineering - but I still enjoyed the book greatly。 。。。more
Waseem
，
Interesting read about the various innovations and inventions in different aspects of life and industry throughout history - and how the story isn’t as straightforward as it’s made out to be - but really boring with random case studies， examples and areas not seemingly getting to the point or making sense to the flow of the book。Book is way longer than it needs to be， and also like his book “rational optimist” where I don’t think I mentioned this when reviewing that book not long ago before this Interesting read about the various innovations and inventions in different aspects of life and industry throughout history - and how the story isn’t as straightforward as it’s made out to be - but really boring with random case studies， examples and areas not seemingly getting to the point or making sense to the flow of the book。Book is way longer than it needs to be， and also like his book “rational optimist” where I don’t think I mentioned this when reviewing that book not long ago before this review ， - he， this author seems to be biased and propagandists sometimes in his examples/teaching - citing things like the “theory” of evolution as gospel， amongst other dubious stuff of “supposed history or how things work” as his references or metaphors to explain stuff - really off putting！To Our Continued Success！Seemy http://www。WaseemMirza。net 。。。more
Jerome Oaf
，
Author needs to read Fooled by Randomness if he hasn't already。 There were multiple instances in the book where the author discounted role of chances and luck。 This book was a let down。 Author needs to read Fooled by Randomness if he hasn't already。 There were multiple instances in the book where the author discounted role of chances and luck。 This book was a let down。 。。。more
Jorg Doku
，
Quite a refreshing read -- finished in a few hours。 Many similar ideas to previous books I've read such as Nassim Taleb's book Antifragile and David Deutsch's book The Beginning of Infinity。 Quite a refreshing read -- finished in a few hours。 Many similar ideas to previous books I've read such as Nassim Taleb's book Antifragile and David Deutsch's book The Beginning of Infinity。 。。。more
Pierre Jacomet
，
I enjoyed this book。 It hypothesizes that all human progress is an incremental group exercise where only certain individuals end up being labeled as "the inventor" whilst the reality is that those inventors work "in" a specific time conjuncture/context where more than one inventor was working at the same time on the same set of needs and possibly several inventors got to the same conclusion， regardless of who ends up being labeled as the inventor。I disagree with the author on some specifics， but I enjoyed this book。 It hypothesizes that all human progress is an incremental group exercise where only certain individuals end up being labeled as "the inventor" whilst the reality is that those inventors work "in" a specific time conjuncture/context where more than one inventor was working at the same time on the same set of needs and possibly several inventors got to the same conclusion， regardless of who ends up being labeled as the inventor。I disagree with the author on some specifics， but this does not detract from the argument the author makes。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=How Innovation Works
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=How Innovation Works&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,How Innovation Works&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0