Perception

so think about 100 feet
walking a hundred feet or driving it

not that big of a deal
now think about being on top of a 100 foot tall building dangling over the side
now that hundred feet is the longest distance you have ever seen

            Throughout history there have been millions of events that have altered our live as everyone knows it today.  Most of the events being extremely simple, so simple that it doesn't seem to have any impact on the human race, but most of these obscure seemingly pointless events continue to alter how society views and functions as a whole.  As of recent years this innovation has come to a screaming halt.  Throughout history many people have done simple acts that have bettered the well being of the human race, like the person that decided to drink animal milk or eat chicken eggs.  This sort of innovation has come to a trickle, the human race needs to lose the limitations of societies' linear thinking and become more innovative. ..:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

            Society stands to gain a better form of life different from any sort of living any one can even imagine because of what we know of life right now.  For example take the egg, the discovery of this little tasty treat provided many meals for developing countries in its time of discovery that where high in protein.  Another example of this would be another common form of nutrients; milk.  Think of the advantages of these two little discoveries, it cut down on the amount of hunting and gathering that had to be done in the early civilizations.  This in turn led to the ability to start specialization in things like making pottery or other various activities that needed special knowledge.  Like Davis expresses "One day a man was cleaning the chicken mess when he found eggs. An odd form of chicken menstruation, the man was feeling explorative. He took a bite and let the runny menstruation slide down his parched old throat. He appreciated the taste, and thought that like meat, it might taste better yet cooked. Eggs from many animals became an immediate smash hit (Davis 3)." It is odd how things like drinking milk, eating animal flesh, and eggs become normal.  How Davis describes it, it may be horribly inaccurate, but chances are that how he said it might not be all that far away from the truth.  Things like drinking milk or eating eggs is in short how the beginning of innovation started. 

            As stated previously innovation was primitive, but innovation itself evolved and became more complex.  Innovation and how it comes about is for more complex then innovation itself.  As said by Richards Gilford it was wise indeed to advocate divergent production and our need to question and move beyond the ruts we know so well.  There are always forces ready to collapse our minds contents, and minds, into little predictable heaps (254).  Stepping out of these predictions is what causes innovation.  A majority amount of time society hinders this action by saying if you do this you are a bad person or looks at the person with disapproval and disproves of the innovation.  In order to move past this society has to open up its eyes and minds to allow more people with odd ideas to succeed in life.   At the same time it takes a certain kind of person to be innovative.  How they became this sort of person is yet to be determined, it might have something to do with how they where raise, what kind of social class they grew up in or something to that effect.  Ryle describes these people the best, it is characteristic of them that they compose, design, experiment, initiate, select, adapt, improvise, undertake, contrive, explore, parry, or speculate.  What they do or say is apt to be slightly or highly original.  They do not, all the time, just stick to the beaten tracks, i.e. to set routines or procedures.  They are less creatures of habit the other people. Such folk need not be eccentric, crazy, frantic or silly.  They may indeed be Heath Robinsons, but they may be Leonardo da Vincis; they may be jay-walkers, but they may be path-finders (69).  Not everyone is like this and if that happens to be it is best to support the people around that are instead of scuffling them.  That way society can continue to have innovation instead of limiting its self. As Lowe emphasizes we must use our brains if we are to retain our wonderful way of life and if we are to create a better tomorrow for our children (4).  If society allows it will finally possible to move past its own limitations and become more innovative, and allow the human race to once again think of the next big thing.  It's kind of like the eating of shrimp they are kind of gross if too much thought it put into eating them.  Cockroaches and shrimp are somewhat related, when was the last time someone tried to stomach eating a cockroach that wasn't on the television show Fear Factor?  If someone would have said a while back "eating cockroaches is tasty and fun," everyone would probably be eating them instead of shrimp.  What about cannibalism?  This activity is definitely frowned upon.  What if when Jonathan Swift wrote "A Modest Proposal," if what he wrote about caught on?  Swift said I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout (3-4). What if, even though it was a satire, had caught on everyone these days would be eating babies.  How things become expectable needs to be closely examined.  So if society can change for the better to allow innovation we as society can expect the unexpected.  As Davis expresses (although highly inappropriate) "You put your fear of the unknown aside and tasted chicken menstruation. That was a lucky hit, you sick bastard. You hit the Powerball with that one. Next week you can try licking a dolphin's anus to the same end, or whatever else suits your fancy. Just make sure it is driven by your grotesque animal instinct. I gave you these instincts for a reason. Do not deny them (3)." Putting the fear of the unknown aside and taking that risk is what has bettered life for all of us, it is a step everyone should take.

Some people may say that society doesn't limit us in our thinking.  Society is fine in how it operates and there has been tons of innovation in the past 20 years.  Okay, like what? Americans have poured billions of dollars into cancer research, and has not come remotely close to having a cure for cancer.  For the most part, really can't say for sure what even causes cancer.  There may be some arguments on what causes cancer but no true precise answers.  America hasn't got any future in space travel.  A lot of cause for things like this is because there is a lack of innovation.  Society says improve on what we have already, and there is nothing wrong with that, but why not also come up with something totally new and different to complete the task.  Society has been wasting billions of dollars on improving things that don't get the job done right.  So come up with something new already to fix the issue with it not doing the job, be innovative and get the job done go to Mars on a space shuttle completely different from what we have now.  Can't find a cure for cancer? Look at it from a different angle, or take a step back out of the "box" and look at cancer on a macro level instead of a micro level, there might be something missing from the picture.  Of someone is looking at a picture and there is a person with a horror-struck look in their face and that is all you are seeing, you are going to wonder why this person is so frightened, the rest of the picture is missing.  If the photographer had take four steps back, the rest of the picture would have been in view and the elusiveness of the horrifying look would be solved.  That is why if society takes a step back, then there is more room for innovation.  That is why society doesn't allow it; society is too concerned about forgetting what we have done to allow us to complete what hasn't been completed.

Whether you are the innovative type or not it is important to not completely disregard someone's thoughts, though being obscure, these innovative thoughts should be given a second chance.  These odd thoughts may turn out to be what cures cancer or allows America to reach mars first.  Once society gets beyond its own limitations and allows for new innovations the human race will be opened up to a whole new way of life where everyone's craziest thoughts are not all that fanatical, and be able to shed a whole new light on how everyone lives their lives.  Society needs to overcome these limitations; if it doesn't then it could be slaughtering what could be an amazing new way of life.  Innovation is the way of the future and the sooner society overcomes its limitations the sooner we will get to this future.