Questions for Hyejin Young on "The Geometrics of the Adjacent Possible"

[jamesallenevans]

Pose your questions here for 2/8 talk by Hyejin Youn about her paper Geometrics of the Adjacent Possibles: Harvesting Values at the Curvature. Novelty is not a sufficient condition for innovation. For new ideas and products to succeed, they must be integrated into the shared knowledge and pre-existing systems. Here, we develop a quantitative framework to assess how past innovations curve search trajectories in the space of adjacent possible, illustrating how the past determines the future. When certain technological building blocks begin to coalesce into noticeable clusters upon frequent combinations, a set of these typical combinations acts as nascent stages of domains in information infrastructure, thus wielding power on the next innovation. The power of typically bends the trajectory of exploration towards typical combinations much like a gravitational force on new ideas and actions. We demonstrate these curvatures are not merely abstract concepts but empirically measurable quantities. For instance, Edison’s inventions are seen in areas of high curvature, echoing his well-known design strategy of leveraging institutionalized domains, while Tesla’s inventions are predominantly located in low-curvature areas, indicating exploration of new territories. This curvature represents the power of typicality from accumulated pasts, guiding search toward well-established, paved paths by compressing the exploration space around the accumulated knowledge repertoire of proven solutions, explaining why the most commercially successful inventions often emerge at the fringes of established domains. Our further analysis of the entire U.S. patents reveals that innovations in areas of high curvature are indeed more likely to harvest monetary values. Our framework provides insights into how new ideas interact with and evolve alongside established structures in both institutional and collective understanding, illustrating the complex dialogue between innovation and convention. Here is the complete paper.

[XiaotongCui]

Regarding the impact of innovation and typicality:

How can the roles of novelty and typicality in innovation be effectively balanced? While innovation research often emphasizes novelty and originality, this paper underscores the importance of typicality. How can we better understand and assess the relationship between these two factors to foster more robust innovation?

[saniazeb8]

This topic seems quite innovative and interesting. I am intrigued to know more about the model's methodology and if we can apply such models in a developing country's context. As in such cases, the socio-political dynamics are quite volatile and prediction would be challenging.

[C-y22]

Hi! For Prof.Youn's discussion on "Geometrics of the Adjacent Possibles," I'd like to ask how the quantitative framework detailed in her paper was applied to U.S. patents for measuring innovation trajectories. I'm curious about the methods used to correlate innovation success with areas of high curvature and the insights gained from contrasting Edison's and Tesla's approaches to innovation within this context.

[ethanjkoz]

I had a few questions regarding the idea of curvature brought up in this paper. As I understand it curvature is a measure used to discern how rugged a specific technological field is compared to other fields in its vicinity. What does it mean for curvature to be high with regards to innovation? A curvature of 0 means relatively flat and homogeneous, as I understand it; it is some sort of distance warped by cluster density? From pages 23-24, it seems like curvature index takes into consideration a temporal component. Overall I am just a bit confused on what this measure really tells us about a patent in relation to innovation and how this relates to market values?

[ZenthiaSong]

Hello, in light of your findings on the geometric curvatures of adjacent possibles and their influence on innovation pathways, how could emerging technologies and startups strategically position their development efforts to balance between leveraging high-curvature areas for immediate value capture and exploring low-curvature areas to pioneer new domains? Additionally, what role could policy makers play in facilitating this balance to foster a more dynamic and sustainable innovation ecosystem?

[iefis]

Thanks for presenting this very interesting research. I want to learn more about the potential extension of the framework by considering the firm characteristics. How exactly would the framework account for the R&D capacity constraints, and would certain firm characteristics be deterministic factors for making innovations with a high curvature?

[alejandrosarria0296]

The framework for your paper identified Edison and Tesla as examples of inventors with particular research typicality tendencies. Do you think that further research into how typicality leads to innovation can further identify "styles" of research and innovation apart from those two?

[nourabdelbaki]

I found this paper a very interesting read as it demystified the process by which innovations come to light. I liked the Edison VS Tesla comparisons as well, it clarified the methodology and results well for me. Something that really caught my attention is the distinction between creating and capturing value. Does the framework suggest a trade-off between exploiting existing knowledge for near-term success and exploring uncharted territories for potentially disruptive innovations? How can individuals and organizations navigate this trade-off effectively?

[yuzhouw313]

Thank you professor Youn for sharing your research with us. After reading your paper, I am wondering how do the concepts of typicality and high curvature within the exploration space impact the likelihood of success and the potential market value of innovations? Specifically, what role does the prevalence of typical combinations and the curvature of innovation spaces play in shaping the trajectory and commercial outcomes of new ideas as they intersect with established structures?

[ksheng-UChicago]

I am impressed by the claim that successful ideas and products must integrate with existing knowledge and systems. I also agree that most innovations exist in cross-disciplinary fields. I wonder if the relevance of the two disciplines affects the innovative idea. For example, will innovations be more promising between two social science disciplines or between a natural science discipline and a social science discipline?

[ecg1331]

Thank you for sharing your research!

You mentioned that having “uneven” boundaries between research/fields tends to be more practically useful. I’m wondering if the research done between uneven boundaries is classified as innovative because it introduces new ideas to the respective fields, or if it is classified more as the “harvesting of already created value” due to its reliance on existing literature from both fields.

[kexinz330]

Hi Dr. Youn, thank you for sharing your research! I have one question regarding that considering the insights came from the examination of U.S. patents to quantify technological domain curvature, can it be conclusively determined that innovators across all fields should strategically pursue areas of high curvature for improved commercial success of their innovations? Additionally, what exceptions exist to this paradigm that pursuing low-curvature domains could be equally or more beneficial for the commercialization and widespread adoption of novel technologies?

[secorey]

Hi Professor Young, Thanks for coming to present your work. I was particularly interested in the concept of the "power of typicality." How do you differentiate this force when it comes to experts in a certain field compared to the average layman?

[lbitsiko]

I'd be interested in learning more about the geometric aspect of the study, particularly your sources of inspiration.

[shaangao]

Very cool research and findings! It's exciting to see how the novelty-familiarity tradeoff manifests in the domain of scientific innovations beyond what we know about infant looking times (in this sense, this paper itself is a great example of trading off novelty and familiarity :D). I was wondering if you expect systematic individual and/or societal differences in terms of what types of innovation (high vs low curvature) a scientist tends to invest in.

[grawayt]

You mention in your paper that you use inventions with novel combinations of existing knowledge as your unit of analysis but that future researchers may extend your research with new inputs. Where do you see future research on this topic heading, and which new units do you expect others will study next?

[isaduan]

Thank you for sharing your research with us. Your research mostly concern innovation in private sectors or scientific research, I wonder what your thoughts on innovation in the social sector? Do we expect more or less integration from innovation with existing ideas?

[natashacarpcast]

Thank you for the interesting research. I'm curious about whether it's possible to come up with completely new ideas. When I try to think of new things, I always seem to be building on what's already out there, and it's hard to imagine something totally different. Do you think it's possible to have totally new ideas, and if so, how do they come about? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

[fabrice401]

Thank you for sharing your research! I am interested in the brand-new concept of curvature, as detailed in the research. I wonder how can curvature influence strategic decision-making in industries not traditionally associated with rapid technological innovation, such as agriculture or construction?

[anzhichen1999]

How does the mathematical modeling of curvature in your study account for the dynamic nature of technological innovation, and could this model be adapted to predict future trends in innovation trajectories based on current curvature measurements?

[AnniiiinnA]

Hi Prof Young, I think your idea of connecting the evolution of domain boundaries with innovation is interesting and I'm wondering what inspires you to analyze the relationships between inventions and the intersections of the existing information or established domain. Also, I'm curious about whether this model can predict future research trends or trends in technological advancements. Generally speaking, does it encourage scientists to engage in more interdisciplinary exploration and research?

[PaulaTepkham]

Thank your for your fantastic research. Currently, I am studying about data cleaning and matching process. I have read that you use pretty unique dataset from the google patent dataset and Patents View. SO I have simple question that we could learn from your experience. What is the most challenging task that you encounter during data cleaning and matching process? What kind of method that you use? Thank you in advance for your answer!

[zimoma0819]

Thank you for this innovative research! I am curious about whether we could predict curvature in the future, and what factors can be influential to change curvatures. Thank you!

[hchen0628]

Thank you very much for sharing. I am curious about how can the curvature concept and its analytical methods be adapted and applied to emerging businesses with limited resources and industries traditionally viewed as having low technological content or slow development? What potential does this adaptation hold for uncovering and leveraging latent opportunities for innovation, thereby facilitating technological advancement and market success in these sectors?

[beilrz]

Thank you for the research. I am curious if such approach could be extend to the field of scientific research. For example, innovations in areas of high curvature may yield more citation or attention from the academia.

[Caojie2001]

Thank you so much for sharing with us your research. I wonder if this research could give rise to the construction of a systematic procedure of assessing innovation and new ideas.

[Ry-Wu]

Hi professor Youn, Thank you so much for sharing your fascinating research! I'm wondering what implications does the study have for policymakers or educators in fostering innovation within high-curvature versus low-curvature domains? Looking forward to your presentation tomorrow.

[lguo7]

Cool research! In the context of rapid technological advancement, how does the ‘curvature of adjacent possibles’ affect the innovation process within interdisciplinary fields, and how can this influence be quantified and assessed to guide future technological development strategies?

[Hai1218]

Thank you for coming to our Workshop, Professor Youn! Your study meticulously delineates between value creation and value capture within the context of technological innovation.Could you elaborate on the practical implications of your findings for entrepreneurs and innovators seeking to navigate the complexities of modern technological and commercial landscapes?

[zhian21]

The study's findings on the curvature of innovation trajectories suggest that while high-curvature areas can lead to valuable innovations by building on existing knowledge clusters, they may also inadvertently contribute to technology lock-in, potentially stifling radical innovation. This tension between exploiting known domains and venturing into uncharted territories is a critical consideration for organizations aiming to sustain long-term technological progress. The challenge lies in fostering an environment that equally values and supports both high- and low-curvature innovation efforts.

How might organizations structure their R&D investments to promote an equilibrium between high-curvature and low-curvature innovations, ensuring a diverse portfolio that mitigates the risk of technology lock-in while still pursuing groundbreaking discoveries?

[lim1an]

Thanks for your sharing. The research is really interesting. I’m wondering:

1. How can we effectively balance the roles of novelty and typicality in innovation to foster more robust and successful outcomes?
2. What practical implications does your research have for entrepreneurs and innovators navigating the complexities of modern technological and commercial landscapes, particularly in terms of value creation and capture within high-curvature versus low-curvature domains?

[jinyz1220]

Thank you for sharing your inspiring work! My questions are: what role does serendipity or chance play in the innovation process, and can this element be quantified or predicted? While systematic research is methodical and goal-oriented, serendipitous discoveries often occur when the boundaries of systematic research are blurred. How can researchers and innovators balance structured methodologies with openness to unexpected outcomes?

[HamsterradYC]

Thank you for sharing your insightful research. I am particularly interested in how the concepts of curvature and typicality can be applied in practical settings. How entrepreneurs and business strategists should integrate the understanding of these concepts into their decision-making processes? This is especially pertinent when they are considering entering new markets or developing innovative products.

[Weiranz926]

Thanks for your sharing. Your research presents a compelling framework for understanding how past innovations influence future search trajectories in the space of adjacent possibles, emphasizing the measurable curvature effects on innovation pathways. Could you elaborate on the methods or strategies that practitioners in fields such as product development, R&D, and policy-making might employ to effectively leverage your findings? Specifically, how can they identify and position their innovation efforts in areas of optimal curvature to maximize commercial success and societal impact?

[Jessieliao2001]

Thanks for your sharing! My curiosity is how does the concept of curvature in the space of adjacent possibles, as outlined in the article discussing the influence of past innovations on future technological trajectories, illustrate the role of established economic structures in shaping the direction and success of new innovations within a macroeconomic context?

[Zhuojun1]

Thank you for sharing.How does the framework proposed in the paper help us understand how new ideas interact with existing structures and evolve within institutional and collective understanding?

[QIXIN-LIN]

Thank you for presenting your fascinating research! Your findings indicate that innovations in areas of high curvature tend to yield greater monetary values. Could you elaborate on how you envision the landscapes of high and low curvature evolving in the future? Specifically, how might shifts in these areas influence the direction of innovation and the potential for harvesting value from new ideas?

[zhuoqingli526]

Thank you for sharing. My question is: Given its insightful analysis, how do industry characteristics and the technological ecosystems specific to various industries shape the formation of high and low curvature areas? Different industries might have their unique patterns of technology combinations, the pace of innovation, and accumulated knowledge bases. Do industry factors indirectly play a role in this analytical framework?

[yuhanwang7]

Thanks for your sharing! It is inspiring to see the connection between innovation and convention. In Tesla's case, it was at the low curvature. From the findings of this study, how can it inform future innovation more creatively rather than considering the monetary perspective for one innovation?

[JerryCG]

Dear Youn,

It is such an interesting paper to read! The terms curvature, power of typicality sound super interesting to me. But I still find it hard to grasp why you call this as "power of typicality" which sounds fancy but I cannot get the intuition here. I feel the definition here might be vague, maybe showing mathematical definition will be better!

Best, Jerry Cheng (chengguo)

[zihua-uc]

Thanks for the interesting paper! I was wondering if novelty is harder to achieve now with so much scientific advancements compared to the past when science was still in its infant stages?

[wenyizhaomacss]

How organizations and policymakers might effectively balance investments and support between high curvature areas, which promise incremental innovation with likely commercial success, and low curvature areas, which hold the potential for groundbreaking, albeit riskier, innovations? Could you please discuss the potential for integrating real-time data analysis and predictive modeling to dynamically identify emerging areas of high curvature?

[volt-1]

How can we understand the relationship between high-curvature and low-curvature areas in terms of fostering long-term sustainable innovation? Specifically, how do these different curvatures affect the strategic decisions of firms regarding investment in R&D and the pursuit of breakthrough innovations versus incremental improvements?

[QichangZheng]

Thank you for sharing your great paper with us. Your research discusses the concern of innovation in private sectors and scientific research. My question is how would you expect the effect of innovation in social sector? In addition, when making analysis, how would you consider the role of industry factor?

[Pritam0705]

Thank you for sharing. I am curious if such a methodology can be applied to an academic field such as social sciences where we barely get any patents. However, the researchers can be known by their innovative methodologies, real-world policy implications, greater h-index, and so on.

[binyu0419]

Thank you for sharing! My question is: how do we validate the measurement of curvature?

[zcyou018]

Thank you for sharing! I'm curious about how does the curvature index, as developed in the study, quantitatively assess the influence of past technological innovations on future technological trajectories?

[fvescia]

Thank you for sharing your work! Like @Pritam0705, I am curious what it could look like to apply this framework in fields where patents are not a a viable metric. Can you imagine using this framework to assess policy innovation? What metric could we use to assess how innovative a policy is?

[kunkunz111]

Thanks for sharing! In your study, you highlight the empirical measure of curvature in innovation spaces and its impact on the commercial success of inventions, drawing examples from Edison and Tesla's differing approaches. Considering the framework's implications for understanding the innovation landscape, how do you foresee the role of digital technologies and artificial intelligence in shaping the curvature of innovation spaces? Specifically, could these technologies potentially flatten areas of high curvature, making it easier for new entrants to innovate, or will they reinforce existing pathways, further concentrating value in established domains?

[Anmin-Yang]

Hi Professor Youn, thank you for sharing this very interesting research. I wonder if you think this kind geometric analysis could be applied to other topics, such as scientific breakthrough. If so, what kind of quantification would be appropriate to define the distance of each publication?