Rechargeable Battery1859 Frenchman Gaston Planté invented the lead-acid rechargeable battery. In the early years, his battery lacked commercial value. Planté’s battery stored electricity and recharged easily but tended to release the electric in enormous bursts that, at the time, offered limited utility value. Before the Planté battery was the Voltaic Pile and later derivatives. These were … Continue reading "Rechargeable Battery"
Blockchain Explained? Hype or Hope?Blockchain is like the gluten diet a few years back; everybody’s into it but nobody’s quite sure why and few people really need it though to those who do it’s important. I’ll analyze it through the only metric that really matters, value. But before doing that, we need to understand what the it actually is. … Continue reading "Blockchain Explained? Hype or Hope?"
Speech RecognitionSpeech recognition is the ability of a computer to recognize the spoken word. “Alexa: read me something interesting from Innowiki.” “Duh human, everything on Innowiki is interesting or it wouldn’t be there.” Today, inexpensive pocket-sized phones connect to centralized servers and understand the spoken word in countless languages. Not so long ago, that was science … Continue reading "Speech Recognition"
Broadcast NewsThe Scripps newspaper family-owned, among other newspapers, The Detroit News. They noticed when the Titanic sunk, in 1912, that radio sent the news far faster than telegraphs or telephones. An Experiment In 1920 radio was for what today we’d call early adopters. There were few broadcasts and most of those were sporadic broadcasting of recorded … Continue reading "Broadcast News"
- Blue Ocean Strategy Basics – Buyer Utility Map
Find and solve painpoints to navigate towards a new blue ocean offering. Painpoints are parts of the purchase or use experience identifying parts of the experience which are pains in the derriére. For example, haggling with a salesperson when buying a new car — wasting time while worrying about being taken advantage of — is … Continue reading "Blue Ocean Strategy Basics – Buyer Utility Map"
Intrauterine Device (IUD)Intrauterine Devices (IUD’s) are long-lasting passive birth control for women. Once inserted they work anywhere from ten years to life. IUD’s are the most common birth-control method in the world. Background IUD’s were first developed in 1909 by Richard Richter of Waldenburg, Germany. Ernst Gräfenberg also supported the devices. He is the doctor the “G-Spot” … Continue reading "Intrauterine Device (IUD)"
LithographyLithography allows highly detailed drawings to be inexpensively reproduced at high volumes. Before lithography, printing remained similar from Gutenberg until Senefelder’s lithographic process. Senefelder worked as an actor and playwright. Unable to earn a living, he turned to printing as a trade but could not afford the typographic fonts and materials. Frustrated, he started experimenting … Continue reading "Lithography"
Multinational CorporationA Nightmare, in Real Life Picture the entire Fortune 500 combined into one large company. The company manufactures everything imaginable with monopolies in cotton, silk, dyes, salts, spices, and tea. Not only do they have near-monopolies in gunpowder but also weaponizes opium, giving away free samples to encourage dependency. Basically, their only moral is to … Continue reading "Multinational Corporation"
DNA SequencingDNA sequencing creates a map of DNA. The process reads DNA like a computer reads a hard drive. Eventually, the technology will allow scientists to understand and manipulate life functions. In 1955, Sanger discovered how to sequence DNA, which would later win him the Nobel Prize. He is one of four people in the world … Continue reading "DNA Sequencing"
Protease InhibitorsHistory They first called it gay men’s cancer. Then announced it affected intravenous drug users. People became skeptical when they added Haitians as a risk factor. Being gay, a drug user, or black was a death sentence? My openly gay high school English teacher became sick and quickly died in the middle of a semester. … Continue reading "Protease Inhibitors"
Credit CardMerchants have always issued credit in one form or another directly to customers. But the idea that a bank would issue credit to purchase anything then, eventually, collect from their customer is newer. In 1946, after WWII, John C. Biggins invented the first universal credit card, called “Charg-It.” However, the card only worked at participating … Continue reading "Credit Card"
Panama CanalThe 80 km. (50 mi.) long Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, avoiding the need to sail around South America. Background Unquestionably, the French were stoked after their completion of the Suez Canal. Given that the project took 3800 years from start to finish their enthusiasm is understandable. Subsequently, they decided to undertake … Continue reading "Panama Canal"
Object-Oriented ProgrammingObject oriented programming is the first of countless Xerox PARC inventions. Vastly simplifying, there are two ways to program a computer. In procedural programming, each thing the computer does is listed. Conditional statements tell the computer which path to follow. Comparatively, in object-oriented programming, objects mimic real life. Programmers then act on these objects. For … Continue reading "Object-Oriented Programming"
Pneumatic Tires1845 Robert Thomson The wheel is a seminal invention, widely regarded as one of the most important in human history. However, early wooden and stone wheels were far less useful than their modern air-filled rubber counterparts, the pneumatic tire. Despite their ubiquity today, it’s amazing that the pneumatic (air-filled) tire initially went all but unnoticed. … Continue reading "Pneumatic Tires"
Controlled Drug DeliveryControlled drug delivery is a simpler and more convenient way to slowly release drugs than taking low-dose pills or injections at frequent intervals. Additionally, it also lowers the risk of incorrect dosage. Zaffaroni invented controlled (slow) release drugs, mimicking the way the body releases hormones. Eventually, he created many pharma companies that went on to … Continue reading "Controlled Drug Delivery"
