A Solution Waiting for a Problem
Tools sometimes find valuable uses their builders did not foresee. Taleb uses the laser, computer, and Internet to argue that curiosity-driven development can contribute to discovery, while noting that many tools accomplish little.
THE IDEA
A Solution Waiting for a Problem
Engineers tend to develop tools for the pleasure of developing tools, not to induce nature to yield its secrets. It so happens that some of these tools bring us more knowledge; because of the silent evidence effect, we forget to consider tools that accomplished nothing but keeping engineers off the streets. Tools lead to unexpected discoveries, which themselves lead to other unexpected discoveries. But rarely do our tools seem to work as intended; it is only the engineer’s gusto and love for the building of toys and machines that contribute to the augmentation of our knowledge. Knowledge does not progress from tools designed to verify or help theories, but rather the opposite. The computer was not built to allow us to develop new, visual, geometric mathematics, but for some other purpose. It happened to allow us to discover mathematical objects that few cared to look for. Nor was the computer invented to let you chat with your friends in Siberia, but it has caused some long-distance relationships to bloom. As an essayist, I can attest that the Internet has helped me to spread my ideas by bypassing journalists. But this was not the stated purpose of its military designer.
The laser is a prime illustration of a tool made for a given purpose (actually no real purpose) that then found applications that were not even dreamed of at the time. It was a typical “solution looking for a problem.” Among the early applications was the surgical stitching of detached retinas. Half a century later, The Economist asked Charles Townes, the alleged inventor of the laser, if he had had retinas on his mind. He had not. He was satisfying his desire to split light beams, and that was that. In fact, Townes’s colleagues teased him quite a bit about the irrelevance of his discovery. Yet just consider the effects of the laser in the world around you: compact disks, eyesight corrections, microsurgery, data storage and retrieval—all unforeseen applications of the technology.*
We build toys. Some of those toys change the world.
When to use it
In software development, a programmer creates a library for the joy of coding, and later it becomes essential for a different project or domain.
In scientific research, a new instrument is built out of curiosity, and it enables a breakthrough in an unrelated field, leading to new knowledge.
In business, a company develops a product feature without a clear market need, and it accidentally becomes the product's killer application, driving adoption.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
The Laser
In Taleb’s account, Charles Townes’s work on the laser was not aimed at the applications that later emerged. He presents retinal surgery, compact disks, eyesight corrections, microsurgery, and data storage as examples of those unexpected uses.
The Computer and the Internet
The computer was not built to develop visual mathematics or to enable social chats with friends in Siberia, but it has led to such discoveries and connections. Similarly, the Internet was not designed for spreading ideas via essays, but it has become a platform for bypassing journalists.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
Think of a technology you use daily. Was it originally invented for that purpose? What were its unintended applications?
Consider a tool you are currently developing or using. Are you building it because it's enjoyable or because it solves a known problem? How might it lead to unexpected discoveries?
Recall a time when a solution preceded a problem. What was the outcome and how did it change your perspective?
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- The Black Swan The Impact of the Highly Improbable With a new section On Robustness and Fragility (Nassim Nicholas Taleb)