Steven Johnson Quotes



Best 14 Quotes by Steven Johnson

“As much as we sometimes roll our eyes at the ivory-tower isolation of universities, they continue to serve as remarkable engines of innovation.”

“Calculus, the electrical battery, the telephone, the steam engine, the radio – all these groundbreaking innovations were hit upon by multiple inventors working in parallel with no knowledge of one another.”

“For decades, we've worked under the assumption that mass culture follows a steadily declining path toward lowest, common denominator standards, presumably because the 'masses' want dumb, simple pleasures and big media companies want to give the masses what they want.”

“If we didn't have genetic mutations, we wouldn't have us. You need error to open the door to the adjacent possible.”

“If you look at history, innovation doesn't come just from giving people incentives; it comes from creating environments where their ideas can connect.”

“The problem is, there are definitely some genuinely lame things on television, and there's more at the bottom of the barrel, because the barrel in a sense has gotten bigger.”

“What you end up seeing when you look at history is that people who have been good at pushing the boundaries of possibility, and exploring those frontiers of good ideas and innovations, have rarely done it in moments of great inspiration. They don't just have a brilliant breakthrough idea out of nowhere and leap ahead of everyone else.”

How We Got to Now Quotes

“There was no lightbulb moment in the story of the lightbulb. By the time Edison flipped the switch at the Pearl Street station, a handful of other firms were already selling their own models of incandescent electric lamps.”

How We Got to Now

Where Good Ideas Come From Quotes

“Being right keeps you in place. Being wrong forces you to explore.”

Where Good Ideas Come From

“Old ideas can sometimes use new buildings. New ideas must use old buildings.”

Where Good Ideas Come From

“Part of the secret of hunch cultivation is simple: write everything down.”

Where Good Ideas Come From

“The more disorganized your brain is, the smarter you are.”

Where Good Ideas Come From

“The trick to having good ideas is not to sit around in glorious isolation and try to think big thoughts. The trick is to get more parts on the table.”

Where Good Ideas Come From

“When you don't have to ask for permission innovation thrives.”

Where Good Ideas Come From

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“Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.”


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