A few weeks ago this photo travelled around the world. Taken purely by accident by a photographer looking for whales, it has become an emblem of the times we are living in: all of us attached to our smart phones, we risk not seeing the world around us.
Quite possibly this gentleman is reading the latest post on Facebook or is caught by one of the many apps to relax and pass the time of day.
In this world, made of countless Apps, we risk losing touch with the real world and the meaning of true innovation.
Someone wants us to believe there is some sort of equation : ( innovation = do App for smart device ) and that it is enough to make one to become millionaires. In fact, the process is Darwinian: only one App in a million proves really useful. All the others just hang around, but don’t fill our pockets!
Rather than look at his phone, this gentleman would do well to observe the things that surround him, such as the shape of the boat, how to row better in the water, or the motion of sea waves in order to extract energy. And then there’s the whale, a prehistoric animal and at the same time wonderful and impressive: it is there, it seems to be asking to be contemplated and studied.
Let’s go back to observing our surroundings, so that we can recognize the real innovations!
