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Steven Johnson: The playful wonderland behind great inventions
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Necessity is the mother of invention, right? Well, not always. Steven Johnson shows us how some of the most transformative ideas and technologies, like the computer, didn't emerge out of necessity at all but instead from the strange delight of play. Share this captivating, illustrated exploration of the history of invention. Turns out, you'll find the future wherever people are having the most fun.
Steven Johnson - Writer
Steven Berlin Johnson examines the intersection of science, technology and personal experience. Full bio
Steven Berlin Johnson examines the intersection of science, technology and personal experience. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
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Roughly 43,000 years ago,
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a young cave bear
died in the rolling hills
died in the rolling hills
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on the northwest border
of modern day Slovenia.
of modern day Slovenia.
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A thousand years later,
a mammoth died in southern Germany.
a mammoth died in southern Germany.
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A few centuries after that,
a griffon vulture also died
a griffon vulture also died
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in the same vicinity.
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And we know almost nothing
about how these animals met their deaths,
about how these animals met their deaths,
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but these different creatures
dispersed across both time and space
dispersed across both time and space
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did share one remarkable fate.
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After their deaths,
a bone from each of their skeletons
a bone from each of their skeletons
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was crafted by human hands
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into a flute.
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Think about that for a second.
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Imagine you're a caveman,
40,000 years ago.
40,000 years ago.
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You've mastered fire.
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You've built simple tools for hunting.
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You've learned how to craft
garments from animal skins
garments from animal skins
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to keep yourself warm in the winter.
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What would you choose to invent next?
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It seems preposterous
that you would invent the flute,
that you would invent the flute,
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a tool that created
useless vibrations in air molecules.
useless vibrations in air molecules.
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But that is exactly
what our ancestors did.
what our ancestors did.
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Now this turns out
to be surprisingly common
to be surprisingly common
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in the history of innovation.
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Sometimes people invent things
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because they want to stay alive
or feed their children
or feed their children
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or conquer the village next door.
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But just as often,
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new ideas come into the world
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simply because they're fun.
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And here's the really strange thing:
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many of those playful
but seemingly frivolous inventions
but seemingly frivolous inventions
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ended up sparking
momentous transformations
momentous transformations
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in science, in politics and society.
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Take what may be the most
important invention of modern times:
important invention of modern times:
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programmable computers.
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Now, the standard story is that computers
descend from military technology,
descend from military technology,
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since many of the early computers
were designed specifically
were designed specifically
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to crack wartime codes
or calculate rocket trajectories.
or calculate rocket trajectories.
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But in fact, the origins
of the modern computer
of the modern computer
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are much more playful,
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even musical,
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than you might imagine.
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The idea behind the flute,
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of just pushing air through tubes
to make a sound,
to make a sound,
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was eventually modified
to create the first organ
to create the first organ
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more than 2,000 years ago.
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Someone came up with the brilliant idea
of triggering sounds
of triggering sounds
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by pressing small levers with our fingers,
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inventing the first musical keyboard.
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Now, keyboards evolved
from organs to clavichords to harpsichords
from organs to clavichords to harpsichords
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to the piano,
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until the middle of the 19th century,
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when a bunch of inventors
finally hit on the idea
finally hit on the idea
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of using a keyboard
to trigger not sounds but letters.
to trigger not sounds but letters.
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In fact, the very first typewriter
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was originally called
"the writing harpsichord."
"the writing harpsichord."
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Flutes and music led
to even more powerful breakthroughs.
to even more powerful breakthroughs.
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About a thousand years ago,
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at the height of the Islamic Renaissance,
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three brothers in Baghdad
designed a device
designed a device
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that was an automated organ.
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They called it "the instrument
that plays itself."
that plays itself."
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Now, the instrument
was basically a giant music box.
was basically a giant music box.
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The organ could be trained to play
various songs by using instructions
various songs by using instructions
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encoded by placing pins
on a rotating cylinder.
on a rotating cylinder.
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And if you wanted the machine
to play a different song,
to play a different song,
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you just swapped a new cylinder in
with a different code on it.
with a different code on it.
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This instrument was the first of its kind.
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It was programmable.
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Now, conceptually,
this was a massive leap forward.
this was a massive leap forward.
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The whole idea of hardware and software
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becomes thinkable for the first time
with this invention.
with this invention.
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And that incredibly powerful concept
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didn't come to us as an instrument
of war or of conquest,
of war or of conquest,
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or necessity at all.
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It came from the strange delight
of watching a machine play music.
of watching a machine play music.
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In fact, the idea of programmable machines
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was exclusively kept alive by music
for about 700 years.
for about 700 years.
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In the 1700s, music-making machines
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became the playthings
of the Parisian elite.
of the Parisian elite.
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Showmen used the same coded cylinders
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to control the physical movements
of what were called automata,
of what were called automata,
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an early kind of robot.
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One of the most famous of those robots
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was, you guessed it,
an automated flute player
an automated flute player
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designed by a brilliant French inventor
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named Jacques de Vaucanson.
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And as de Vaucanson
was designing his robot musician,
was designing his robot musician,
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he had another idea.
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If you could program a machine
to make pleasing sounds,
to make pleasing sounds,
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why not program it to weave
delightful patterns of color out of cloth?
delightful patterns of color out of cloth?
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Instead of using the pins of the cylinder
to represent musical notes,
to represent musical notes,
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they would represent
threads with different colors.
threads with different colors.
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If you wanted a new pattern
for your fabric,
for your fabric,
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you just programmed a new cylinder.
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This was the first programmable loom.
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Now, the cylinders were too expensive
and time-consuming to make,
and time-consuming to make,
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but a half century later,
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another French inventor named Jacquard
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hit upon the brilliant idea
of using paper-punched cards
of using paper-punched cards
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instead of metal cylinders.
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Paper turned out to be
much cheaper and more flexible
much cheaper and more flexible
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as a way of programming the device.
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That punch card system inspired
Victorian inventor Charles Babbage
Victorian inventor Charles Babbage
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to create his analytical engine,
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the first true programmable computer
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ever designed.
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And punch cards were used
by computer programmers
by computer programmers
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as late as the 1970s.
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So ask yourself this question:
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what really made
the modern computer possible?
the modern computer possible?
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Yes, the military involvement
is an important part of the story,
is an important part of the story,
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but inventing a computer
also required other building blocks:
also required other building blocks:
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music boxes,
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toy robot flute players,
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harpsichord keyboards,
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colorful patterns woven into fabric,
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and that's just a small part of the story.
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There's a long list of world-changing
ideas and technologies
ideas and technologies
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that came out of play:
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public museums, rubber,
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probability theory, the insurance business
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and many more.
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Necessity isn't always
the mother of invention.
the mother of invention.
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The playful state of mind
is fundamentally exploratory,
is fundamentally exploratory,
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seeking out new possibilities
in the world around us.
in the world around us.
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And that seeking
is why so many experiences
is why so many experiences
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that started with simple
delight and amusement
delight and amusement
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eventually led us
to profound breakthroughs.
to profound breakthroughs.
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Now, I think this has implications
for how we teach kids in school
for how we teach kids in school
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and how we encourage innovation
in our workspaces,
in our workspaces,
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but thinking about play
and delight this way
and delight this way
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also helps us detect what's coming next.
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Think about it: if you were
sitting there in 1750
sitting there in 1750
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trying to figure out
the big changes coming to society
the big changes coming to society
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in the 19th, the 20th centuries,
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automated machines, computers,
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artificial intelligence,
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a programmable flute
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entertaining the Parisian elite
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would have been as powerful a clue
as anything else at the time.
as anything else at the time.
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It seemed like an amusement at best,
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not useful in any serious way,
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but it turned out to be
the beginning of a tech revolution
the beginning of a tech revolution
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that would change the world.
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You'll find the future
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wherever people are having the most fun.
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Steven Johnson - WriterSteven Berlin Johnson examines the intersection of science, technology and personal experience.
Why you should listen
Steven Johnson is a leading light of today's interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to innovation. His writings have influenced everything from cutting-edge ideas in urban planning to the battle against 21st-century terrorism. Johnson was chosen by Prospect magazine as one of the top ten brains of the digital future, and The Wall Street Journal calls him "one of the most persuasive advocates for the role of collaboration in innovation."
Johnson's work on the history of innovation inspired the Emmy-nominated six-part series on PBS, "How We Got To Now with Steven Johnson," which aired in the fall of 2014. The book version of How We Got To Now was a finalist for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. His new book, Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World, revolves around the creative power of play and delight: ideas and innovations that set into motion many momentous changes in science, technology, politics and society.
Johnson is also the author of the bestselling Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation, one of his many books celebrating progress and innovation. Others include The Invention of Air and The Ghost Map. Everything Bad Is Good For You, one of the most discussed books of 2005, argued that the increasing complexity of modern media is training us to think in more complex ways. Emergence and Future Perfect explore the power of bottom-up intelligence in both nature and contemporary society.
An innovator himself, Johnson has co-created three influential sites: the pioneering online magazine FEED, the Webby-Award-winning community site, Plastic.com, and the hyperlocal media site outside.in, which was acquired by AOL in 2011.
Johnson is a regular contributor to WIRED magazine, as well as the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and many other periodicals. He has appeared on many high-profile television programs, including "The Charlie Rose Show," "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer."
Steven Johnson | Speaker | TED.com