Invention and Innovation
Walter Bender
David Cavallo
Institute Fernando Henrique Cardoso
1 June 2005

Why we are here?
To work with our Brazilian colleagues to give an
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opportunity for all to take advantage of the
creative cultural spirit;
To help establish Brazil as the a global model of
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new activities, institutions, and ideas that can
make a difference in creating a more equitable
world;
To lay the groundwork for taking advantage of the
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widespread distribution of low-cost computation.

Agenda
The Seven Secrets of the Media Lab
Viral Communication
The Rule of Many
Open Software and the Normal Curve
Hundred Dollar Laptop
A Brief Digression
Rethinking Education

Fine's double helix
innovation consolidation
(liquid vs. solid phase)

About the Media Lab
Technology in support of learning and expressing by
people and machines.
Founded in 1983 by Negroponte and Wiesner
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30 research groups
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150+ graduate students
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300+ projects (quantum computing to karaoke)
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100+ industry partners
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US $30M annual budget
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7 Secrets of the Media Lab
Sun: There are no secrets.
Moon: Innovation is cyclical.
Fire: Invest in the passion of people, not projects.
Water: Innovation is change.
Wood: Integrate design and engineering.
Gold: POV is worth 40 IQ points.
Earth: Ground academics in industry.

Aligning goals
Unrelated Interests
indu acad Synergy = 0, Risk = 100
stry emy
“Going our separate ways.”
Complete Overlap of Interests
Synergy = 100, Risk = 0
“Work for hire”
Healthy Overlap of Interests *
Synergy > 0, Risk > 0
“Strong collaboration”
* hard work

Viral communications
“Use what you need, and trust that others will”
n
n
capacity
bandwidth per node
(Lippman & Reed)

Viral communications
viral… and cooperative… has advantages!
scalable local knowledge low cost
incremental local decisions adaptable
contributory global structure robust
(Lippman & Reed)

Properties of emergent systems
1. Size; 2. Independence; and 3.
Focus
efficiency
The Rule of Many
The Rule of 150
10 100 1000 10000 100000
group size

Creativity: Wikipedia

Decision-making: Blogdex
(Marlow)

Organization: Flicker

From the rule of many:
Organic networks
“By reducing the economic barrier to innovation and
by adopting a more modular, flexible architecture,
computing became accessible to entrepreneurs,
small businesses, and ultimately consumers… In
addition to being grassroots, it reflects the needs
and interests of its local constituency and develops
global, emergent behavior.”
(Lippman & Pentland)

Strategic Analysis:
Learning-centric design
A common misconception of ICT is that the
computer is just a device for I and C. A critical
element is the computer’s potential for creation,
expression, visualization, and simulation.
1. We are creating open tools for construction and
expression to unleash the global creative
potential.
2. We expect others to create examples of use and
to improve upon existing tools and applications.

US$100 Laptop (HDL)
Generation-1 (of 3) is targeted at 500 MHz,
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128M DRAM, 1G flash or 5G disk, LCD
display, 4 USB ports, and a 3-hour battery.
While our focus is on China, Brazil, and US, we
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are in discussions in Africa, Middle East and
South East Asia, and with the UN, UNESCO,
and the World Bank.

US$100 Laptop (HDL)
HDL is not a laptop program;
it is a learning program.

Strengths and Advantages
Non-profit/Non-retail (Ministers of Education)
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One-to-one access
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The Rule of Many
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Emergent design
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Technological insights
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Displays
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Telecommunications
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Applications
–

Next Steps
Hardware pilot
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Context of use:
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Software environment
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Social environment
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Regulatory environment
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Global environment
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Communities of practice
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Open source and the Normal curve

A digression:
Rethinking urban transportation
1890: Yagn’s Vision

Herr’s vision:
São Paulo without cars?
2005: Hugh Herr