Knowledge Production Modes between Science and Applications 1

2From Invention to Innovation

2.1. Preamble

Individuals draw on information and keep only that which is relevant to their system of thought: they seek to reinforce certainties already acquired in the past. The processes of anchoring and objectification account for this necessity (Orfali 2005).

When a team puts forward arguments designed to seduce funders or the public, but which the members and their peers know to be empty, the rule is silence. The citizens of the ‘Republic of Science’ know that, in a self-interested society, such mechanisms of disinterest are ‘unfortunately necessary’ (Stengers and Bensaude-Vincent 2003).

The daily life of individuals and organizations is made up of mediocre decisions, because it’s difficult to agree and work together, human intelligence has its limits, and hazards are inevitable. Mediocre decisions are the result of action that revolves around the objective (Morel 2002).

The first theory of innovation came from French sociologist Gabriel Tarde at the end of the 19th century (Tarde 2001). After a proof of concept (POC), a patent, etc., other processes are at work, with co-design or redesign of the project to create an industrial demonstrator (ID) development of the project (market “understanding” must be present at a very early stage), followed by the launch of production and marketing. The latter is a process in which technical possibilities and the market are constantly adjusted. But Christensen (1997) points out that when a disruptive innovation ...