In a new Q&A with MIT News, Professor Eugene Fitzgerald challenges conventional wisdom about innovation, drawing on his latest book to examine the forces that turn breakthroughs into value. His central argument is that innovation resists simple formulas, unfolding instead through a messy, multi-faceted process rather than a predictable, linear path.
Fitzgerald's work delves into the often-overlooked mechanisms that allow a technical breakthrough to mature into societal and economic impact. The book suggests that rigid innovation models may fail to capture the nuanced interplay of factors that genuinely enable progress from discovery to value.
The perspective arrives as policymakers and technology leaders search for reliable pathways to scale emerging technologies. Fitzgerald's analysis implies that investment and policy strategies must account for this inherent complexity to be effective, offering a framework for understanding why innovation cannot be reduced to a formula.