Technological innovation

Author: Alfredo Colunga 

We have described some of the elements which characterize a rational war; however, we’ve missed one of extraordinary relevance:

The limited good, in dispute, has been considered to have no possible replacement.

And it is then when we can talk about a new evolutionary phase. The new evolutionary phase will arrive when, given the energy limitation, the living systems implied will not only invest in attack tools, to stop other systems from having access to this energy, but will consciously invest in NEW SENSORS, which locate a new energy to replace the already located one and considered as being non renewable, NEW TOOLS to capture the new energy and AN EVOLUTION OF THE METABOLIC SYSTEM which makes it possible for it to assimilate the new energy. And this investment will be made in order to replace all the possible energies presented as limited.

This means that what we have been talking about is a NEW SOCIAL LIVING SYSTEM characterized not only for its ability to foresee an energy limitation but for its ability to perform a CONSCIOUS INVESTMENT in sensors and tools which can replace an energy limitation.

This means, A LIVING SYSTEM ABLE TO CONSCIOUSLY INNOVATE.

Innovation is a characteristic of all evolutionary processes. However, this innovation was BLIND; it was caused in the case of biological living systems by “reproductive mistakes”. But now, for the first time, we can see that innovation may be a conscious act, a voluntary investment.

The same existence of the word INNOVATION indicates the conscience of evolutionary will. If we look for the definition of innovation, we will find as follows (wikipedia definition):

“To innovate comes from the Latin innovare which means the act or effect of innovating, turning new or renovating, introducing a novelty.

Innovation means to apply new ideas, concepts, products, services or practices in order to make them useful to increase productivity. One essential element in innovation is its successful appliance in a commercial way. It is not only about inventing something, but about introducing it into the market so that people can enjoy it.

Innovation requires the conscience and balance to transport ideas from the imaginary of fiction field to the field of reality and implementation”

It is important to mention that despite the Latin root of the word INNOVATION has recently appeared (not more than two hundred years ago), the imperial Rome already used the term RENOVATION. This is similar in structure but very different in the philosophical meaning: to renovate consists in substituting what has become old or is broken down not in adding new functions or utilities.

The blind evolution, which is not only the characteristic of Biology History but of Social History as we will see, can be substituted by an emerging characteristic: conscious innovation. Evolution is blind regarding which of the implied systems will succeed and which won’t. A better sensor, a better tool a better decision-making system can be insufficient to continue the evolution but can find a relatively stable ecologic niche.

Some of the systems implied in this competition, though impossible to foresee which ones, will reach a stage where when facing energy limitation they will be able to consciously innovate to overcome such limitation. This ability will substitute the test and error process which had characterized evolution since it first appeared. And this ability will increase and even improve its memory of energetically profitable actions, making them more conscious each time. Understanding conscience as the reasoned choice on the future energy elections needed to support the structure and among others, to be able to evaluate the own evolutionary process.

And they will therefore be more robust acts as well.