Looking back on one of the many columns we crossed.
Finding Innovation in Isolation: Reflections from the Tibetan Plateau
The Cogs issue #1
This article recalls a fun example of "innovation in isolation" stumbled across while I was on a 7-day expedition hiking and camping across the Tibetan plateau in the region of Gannan, Gansu province, China.
The Tibetan plateau is a remote region of the world, perched atop its highest point, it is a world unto itself. A landscape that humbles the senses and ignites the imagination. A place where life moves to its own rhythm, where the air is thin and the water boils slowly. It is a land of isolation, of sparseness and remoteness, one that throughout its history has frequently been cut off from much of the global engine of knowledge production, and as such is a region that has evolved in relative seclusion from the rest of the world. But even in isolation, innovation often finds a way.
I recently found myself on a trek across the plateau in the region of Gannan (甘南), which roughly translates as 'southern Gan' and it was there that I encountered a simple yet intriguing innovation. It was a solution to an unnecessary problem, but the ingenuity that went into its creation ran counter-intuitive to how we typically conceptualize moments of serendipitous innovation.
The leading research by cognitive psychologists on the topic of innovation has shown that humanity's serendipitous moments of innovation are far less reliant on the creative genius of individuals as we so often focus on. Instead, they rely on what has been called the "collective brain" of society. It is now understood that a society and its network of interpersonal connections acts as collective brain. That just like a ship that is lifted by the rising tide, so too are the opportunity for sparks of innovation by our rising tide of knowledge. The collective brain theory proposes that human innovation is not the result of a few creative geniuses but rather emerges from the collective intelligence of our societies and social networks. It suggests that our brains, which have evolved to acquire culture, work together to create a collective brain that facilitates innovation. The research has shown that our brains are not isolated entities but are deeply interconnected with the people around us. The knowledge, skills, and experiences of our peers and colleagues contribute to our own abilities and understanding of the world. This collective intelligence allows us to solve complex problems and create new ideas that would be impossible for as individual brains to generate alone. For more on this I recommend checking out Michael Muthukrishna's paper "Innovation in the collective brain". For now, lets return back to the Tibetan plateau… and ask what happens when a region is isolated from the collective brain?
With humidity comes rain...
On the sixth and final day of our trek, the group and I had not dropped below 4,500 meters for the entire six days, and fatigue was beginning to set in. We were now all eagerly scanning the horizon for any sign that we were descending. By midday on this final day, I began to notice a subtle increase in humidity and vegetation. Looking to our guide, he gave me the nod that we were indeed beginning our descent. Those first few breaths of moist, oxygen rich air elevate your appreciation for the simple act of breathing. The wave of energy that rushes into your body, replenishing its empty reserves. It's also in this moment that a pink hue of colour returns to my expedition partners lips, which after initially turning a worrying crimson shade of blue, had since maintained a pale whitish pink colour for the past 6 days. The rugged terrain had taken its toll on all of us, but the marvel of the natural beauty around us, had given us all the motivation we needed to keep going.
Tashi our trek leader making it look effortless.
Continuing down, the first man-made structure we encountered came into view. It was a towering orange steel frame, reaching 30 m into the air part of the local government's plans to create more accessible means of entering the mountain range. As we continued down, we caught a glimpse of the bottom of the structure and the rough pebble-dashed road that would take us back to the urban world.
Future elevator..?
After days of hiking through the rugged mountainous terrain, we finally caught sight of our chariot: a 9-seater Wuling van, lovingly referred to as a "bread van" in China. Eager to rest our exhausted bodies, we piled into the van and began the 4-hour journey to the nearest town of Lintan, hoping for a comfortable bed and a good night's sleep.
Tiered rice fields on the drive back to Lintan, Gansu.
The hotel was a modest setup but the rooms were clean, spacious and after 6 days of only baby wipes, the hot shower was one I will not soon forget. It was in this hotel room in Lintan that I encountered a novel solution to a problem I hadn’t expected needed solving. Standing in front of the TV, remote controller in hand, I noticed the reflection of my socks glaring back at me. After 7 nights of suffering the effects of high altitude, I hadn't gotten the best sleep, so I'm not ashamed to admit that there was a brief pause while my brain processed what was going on. Upon closer inspection, I realized that I could also see what looked like a TV box reflecting back at me in the same place as my socks. Opening the TV cupboard I discovered that a TV box had been mounted with its receiver panel facing upwards pointing at a mirror that had been angled at 45゜. This apparently allowing the TV box to fit inside the slim cabinet and use the mirror to reflect the IR signal from the remote controller, down towards the TV box.
Quite a novel solution really, a resourceful solution, but to a problem that should never have existed. The person responsible for selecting and designing the hotel room furniture clearly did not have the experience or access to a system that could analyze the different items of furniture and their dimensions before ordering. As a result, the team hired to install the furniture faced a significant challenge – a TV cabinet with a TV box that wouldn't fit inside. And yet, despite the lack of resources and knowledge, someone was able to come up with a creative solution that solved the problem in all 60 rooms of the hotel... I checked.
Now while it is true that mistakes, accidents, and unintended consequences often lead to innovation, this example was unique in that it was a solution to a problem that should never have happened in the first place. A creative solution born out of necessity. I couldn't help but reflect on the current discourse surrounding innovation. The latest research tells us that the transmission and diffusion of knowledge are critical for innovation to flourish. They provide the foundations for the sharing of knowledge, skills, and resources to be built upon and expanded. But the example I was witnessing here in this remote hotel room, just showed that isolation, with its lack of access to shared knowledge and resources that can inspire creative problem-solving.
This type of creativity, born out of necessity and resourcefulness, is of course not unique to the Tibetan plateau. Many isolated regions of the world, as well as countries undergoing rapid development and change, frequently experience breakdowns in knowledge transmission or can be cut off altogether. However, it is in these moments of isolation that humans can rethink how things are done, and try new approaches to problem-solving. In this case here, in this hotel room, we have a fun reminder that while the solution may not have been groundbreaking, it does demonstrate the power of the individual to solve problems when pushed to do so.
Its worth all of us thinking about, how in this highly interconnected world, isolation can sometimes provide us with the space to rethink how things are done. To try new approaches to the challenges we face. When resources and knowledge are limited, humans are forced to think creatively and approach problems from new angles. This creativity can lead to breakthrough innovations that would not have been imagined in a more connected, resource-rich environment.
So, while we do now live in this global ocean of knowledge, an ocean that does offer us many of the answers and serendipitous sparks we need, an ocean that has accelerated humankind's rate of innovation to unprecedented levels. It also poses barriers to our progress, due to its increasing inertia. So as we continue to navigate an increasingly interconnected and complex world, it is important to remember the value of sometimes exploring in isolation. To seek inspiration in places where gaps or breakdowns in knowledge transmission exist and just maybe, we'll find ourselves forced to solve for things that should not need solving, but in the process of doing so we discover a completely new approach; one that has us staring at our socks while we turn on the TV.
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