Why are we not producing innovators?
Talk about any (or at least most of the) innovations in last fifty-hundred years from as hi-tech as the espial of computers, industrial robots, microwave ovens, Hubble telescope, genetic sequencing, airplanes, printing press, fiber optic, internet, cell phones and GPS to comparatively less complicated innovations such as audiotape, webcam, guitars, nylon, bar-code, Google, Facebook, to the simplest of innovations in the form of post-its, sliced bread, play-doh, drinking straw and paper clips, Europe and U.S share the tiger’s chunk.
The answer to this seems simple.
The education system in European countries and U.S is superlative; literacy rate is hovering in mid or late 90s in terms of percentage since last few decades. It’s a known fact; a better educated society is bound to produce more innovators. But is education the only pre-requisite for innovation?
To an extent yes it is, but why would anyone need to be formally and technically educated to come up with slightly straightforward inventions such as a paper-clip or sliced bread?
In developing countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia or Pakistan even, the literacy rate has picked up in last decade or so. But even when it wasn’t as elevated as currently it is, the countries still were producing decent amount of PHDs, scientists, engineers. What could be the reason, these countries failed to make any contributions in terms of innovations to the global world?
Forget about technical innovations, we hardly had any simple inventions from these countries in last five decades or since the inception of the countries mentioned.
There is a strong case; we are missing important elements for innovation in the less developed countries.
The elements are the availability of basic needs (shelter, food, clean water) as well as the employment security.
In a developing country just like Pakistan, where the State fails to provide the basic needs and employment opportunities to all its citizens, everyone or most of us have a single motivation in life. That is to earn money in order to fulfill our basic needs or to maintain our living standard. Sad but true.
How can innovation flourish when the mind is stressed and only focused on acquiring money or a job? These two elements are a blockade to any sort of innovations. Even the ones that have money and education, their focus is still on acquiring more money in order to secure the future of their off-springs- they are aware, state under normal circumstances would not assist their children in terms of provision of shelter, health and employment opportunities.
In the West, citizens are not faced with the issue of provision of basic needs. They are aware, even if they don’t have money; the State would provide them with at-least the basic needs that are needed for survival. For that reason, their mind is stress-free and a relaxed mind is a nursery for innovation.