Innovation is often seen as key to modern society. Whether in pursuit of economic growth, more convenience in daily life, or simply greater well-being, the pursuit of the new and better ideas and technology is always underway. But what if the key to human flourishing doesn’t lie in the search for the new, but rather in maintenance of what we already have? Could the endless pursuit of innovation as a goal in itself is actually causing us harm?
Lee Vinsel, co-author of The Innovation Delusion and founder of the Maintainers, explains the costs of this pursuit and the hold that innovation-speak has exacted on our society.From climate change to crumbling infrastructure, he and Grant discuss how maintenance rather than novelty might be the key to a more sustainable life, and how understanding and prioritizing the needs and well-being of human persons can lead to a more functional, beautiful world.
After World War II, innovation started being seen as the key to economic growth, job creation, and increased quality of life
“Innovation-speak” is the way we talk and think about innovation; it doesn’t often lead to actual innovation
Although digital technology is the nexus of 21st century innovation, most innovations that improve the quality of daily life were invented in the 1900s
Much digital innovation is not truly innovation but rather a version of something we already had (IE food delivery apps versus calling to order a pizza)
Many historians of technology see computing/digital tech as an extension of the Industrial Revolution, not something new
The rise of populism in politics could be correlated to disillusionment with the overall economic system, which hinges on innovation
“What I want [my kids] to understand is that you can have a solid middle class life and not go to college. I would love it if they went to college, [...] but I want them to go for the right reasons and not the wrong ones. We've seriously over promised college as a path to a career”
City leaders think people want bells and whistles (like wifi on buses), when research shows they really “just want functioning stuff in their lives”
Money is given by the government to places to build new structures, but then those places don’t have the resources to maintain them
“When we look at what these policies turn into—it's just a grab bag for all the legislatures from all over the nation. It's like, well, what am I going to get out of it?”
A cultural shift towards an infrastructure mindset that prioritizes maintenance, would require seeing technological innovation as a means rather than an end unto itself
Focusing on human wellbeing as an end leads both to greater functionality and more beauty
“I think that we can't move forward with things like climate policy and thinking about these very deep existential issues without thinking about what humans actually need”
There’s a cost benefit analysis to deciding what to maintain yourself in your household, vs what you pay a professional maintainer (plumber, electrician, etc) to do
Maintenance is linked to sustainability because poorly maintained systems use more energy; we too easily adopt innovations without thinking through their maintenance costs; and we waste resources when we discard the old in favor of the new in a “waste economy”
Much of the contemporary sustainability movement is “just about keeping the capitalist machine going”