PsychoanalysisPsychoanalysis is a process of working with highly trained professionals. Through discussions, doctors uncover and heal often forgotten events or disturbances. Freud was a neurologist who noticed that patients under hypnosis talked about disturbing events, oftentimes from their childhood. He theorized that speaking about these events would allow a person to confront, heal, and work … Continue reading "Psychoanalysis"
Spinning JennySpinning Jenny’s are significantly more efficient spinning wheels, allowing wool to be produced at a much lower price. Each Jenny did the work of multiple spinners. The Jenny (slang for Engine in British English) was unwelcome in Hargreaves’ village because it caused yarn prices to decline. Chased by angry tradesmen, he fled from the spinning … Continue reading "Spinning Jenny"
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET Plastic bottles)PET plastic reduced the cost and weight of beverage containers. Originally, only glass and metal containers were suitable for storing carbonated drinks. Other plastics would bulge and break. However, PET plastic enabled plastic bottles suitable for carbonated drinks. Soon, it became used for all beverages. In the 1960s, plastics engineer Wyeth questioned whether carbonated drinks … Continue reading "Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET Plastic bottles)"
Planned Communities / Cookie-Cutter SuburbsLevitt produced inexpensive homes. He subcontracted building parts of the home to specialists who would do the same work repeatedly, from house to house. His methods reduced costs and increased quality: a standardized parts assembly line for houses. Levitt’s methods were copied with cookie-cutter style suburbs dotting the US especially, where people have limited choices … Continue reading "Planned Communities / Cookie-Cutter Suburbs"
Alternators / Long-Distance Transmission of ElectricityAlternators and Alternating Current enabled the long-distance transmission of electricity. Edison’s electrical plant ran on DC which does not transmit far. Under Edison’s system, there were electric plants every few blocks in cities (the inner Chicago loop had 25 electric plants at one point). Tesla’s AC system transmitted electricity much further; it’s the same we … Continue reading "Alternators / Long-Distance Transmission of Electricity"
Coke Fueled Blast Furnace / Pig Iron1709 Abraham Darby used Coke instead of coal to fire blast furnaces, making the production of iron from pig iron (a weak iron), much more economical. Coke burns significantly hotter than coal which, combined with his new design to concentrate the heat, his factory was significantly more efficient than prior methods. He created the Bristol … Continue reading "Coke Fueled Blast Furnace / Pig Iron"
Photocopiers“Xerography was an invention we didn’t know we needed until, suddenly, we didn’t know how we lived without it.” Carlson biographer David Owen Chester Carlson Chester Carlson had a childhood nobody would want to copy. His father was perennially ill and poor. Mom, dad, and young Chester lived in a leaky hut in Mexico until … Continue reading "Photocopiers"
Polyethylene PlasticPolythene (PE) is the world’s most common plastic. Plastic bags, packaging cups, plates are all made from polyethylene plastic. Only carbonated beverage bottles use a different type of plastic because PE does not expand well. Despite its ubiquity today, PE has an odd history. It was an accidental discovery by Reginald Gibson and Eric Fawcett … Continue reading "Polyethylene Plastic"
Movie SoundTalkie movies increased fun but also increased the utility of movies by enabling the transmission of news with pictures. Newsreels, that started out as shorts played before movies, evolved into the most effective communication method in history. Tigerstedt created the first documented movie sound technology, in 1914. However, his technology was not commercialized. Lee de … Continue reading "Movie Sound"
- Blue Ocean Strategy Basics – Value Innovation
An introduction to the core of blue ocean strategy Blue Ocean Strategy is a strategic framework and the name of a bestselling 2005 book written by Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne published by Harvard Business Review. The book is based on a series of articles published in Harvard Business Review starting in the 1990s. This … Continue reading "Blue Ocean Strategy Basics – Value Innovation"
Cash RegisterCash registers help deter theft and led to modern bookkeeping. Ritty was a saloon owner who had problems with employee theft. He invented and patented the cash register, calling it the “Incorruptible Cashier” and created a company to sell it. There was little interest and he tired of simultaneously running two businesses, one manufacturing and … Continue reading "Cash Register"
SatellitesSatellites brought the world closer together, enabling instant communication, relaying information, and fulfilling countless military and civilian uses. Sergei Korolev designed the first satellite, the Sputnik 1. It struck fear and hope around the globe as it orbited earth sending radio pings that anybody could hear. Korolev spent years during the Great Purge in Stalin … Continue reading "Satellites"
Digital Mobile PhoneDigital mobile phones vastly reduce the cost of mobile phones by enabling many more phones to utilize the same number of towers. After the successful launch of analog mobile phones, the need for a digital standard quickly became apparent. Digital phones are smaller, use less power, and require fewer towers. There are two mobile digital … Continue reading "Digital Mobile Phone"
Blue Ocean Strategy & Finance: Margin LendingMargin lending refers to the process of using borrowed money for investing. For example, a traditional investor may purchase 100 shares of a business for $10, spending $1,000. However, using margin, that same person may purchase 150 shares, spending the same $1,000 and borrowing another $500. If the stock price goes up, they pay the … Continue reading "Blue Ocean Strategy & Finance: Margin Lending"
Wireless Remote Control1898 Nikola Tesla Only four years after the invention of radio and over a decade before voice was transmitted over radio, Nikola Tesla invented the remote control. In 1898, he demonstrated his remote control with a radio-controlled boat at an exhibition in Madison Square Garden. Realizing that people would not understand the idea of a … Continue reading "Wireless Remote Control"
