The Paradox of the Unknown Knowns: How Ignorance Shapes Innovation

Thought

A fleeting thought exploring the relationship between the known, the unknown, and the innovation process.

Note

Ignorance can sculpt the pathway to innovation as much as knowledge can.

Analysis

In the quest for new ideas and innovation, it's common to focus on what we know and the knowledge we can obtain. However, what we don't know—the "unknown knowns"—can be equally influential in shaping our creative journey. These are things we could know but currently don't because they are either overlooked, ignored, or not yet discovered. They reside in the periphery of our awareness, often emerging as surprises that catalyse innovative thinking.

This concept can map onto Arthur Koestler's notion of bisociation, where creativity arises from the intersection of two previously unrelated matrices of thought. The unknown knowns reside at this intersection, waiting to be uncovered and connected with our current understanding. They compel us to question assumptions, challenge mental models, and venture beyond conventional boundaries. Only through acknowledging our ignorance can we begin to perceive these blind spots and transform them into gateways for new insights.

Books

• "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" by Thomas S. Kuhn – Offers a perspective on how paradigm shifts are often precipitated by anomalies that mainstream science initially ignores.
• "Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable" by Nassim Nicholas Taleb – Discusses the profound impact of unexpected events for which we have no prior knowledge.
• "The Ignorant Maestro: How Great Leaders Inspire Unpredictable Brilliance" by Itay Talgam – Explores how embracing ignorance can lead to leadership that fosters creativity and innovation.

Papers

• "The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge" by Abraham Flexner, Harpers Magazine 1939 – Argues for the importance of curiosity-driven research that doesn't have immediate practical applications.
• "Strategic Ignorance in Sequential Procurement" by Jason Pearcy – Examines how not knowing certain information can actually lead to better procurement strategies.

Tools

• The Johari Window – A tool used in psychology to help people better understand their relationship with themselves and others. It includes a quadrant for "unknown" aspects that others can see but we are unaware of.

Existing Products, Services or Other Objects

• Serendipity in pharmaceutical research – The discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming as a product of serendipity and embracing the unknown.
• High-throughput screening in synthetic biology – An approach that sifts through vast combinatorial libraries to identify novel biological functions that were previously unknown.