Scalable Innovation

lxi

Introduction to the Model

With the Prologue serving as an appetizer, we move to the book’s main

course—a systematic approach to creating inventions and scalable innova-

tions. We start it with a bare-bones system model.

The economy, and indeed everything, seems to be built on a very basic

premise—that goods and services will be exchanged. The exchange involves

mass, energy, and/or information. These units of exchange have to originate

somewhere—let’s call it the Source—and used or transformed somewhere—

let’s call it the Tool. Mass, energy, and information have to traverse space

and time—let’s call the path(s) the Distribution. In order for the ...