CHAPTER 2

Discover

Let’s find the next big idea

Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen, and thinking what nobody has thought.

—Albert Szent-Gyorgyi

In the beginning, it was all about accidental discovery.

Who first discovered how to start a fire? We don’t know who, but we know that humans have used fire since the early Stone Age. Who invented the wheel? Again, we don’t know who, but the wheel has been around for more than five thousand years.

When we examine these technological breakthroughs closely, we ask, “Were they simply accidental discoveries or were they the result of deliberate efforts?” If consider them accidents, we don’t seem to be giving much credit to the brainpower of mankind. If these were accidents, what facilitated ...

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