Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Good Ideas

In the final reading assignment, Steven Johnson once again incorporates themes from previous chapters in order to build his idea. In the chapter entitled “Platforms,” Johnson praises the adjacent possible created by different inventions throughout history, for example Twitter, Global Positioning System, and even the development of coffeehouses. The final chapter, “The Fourth Quadrant,” traces innovations and their associated adjacent possibles throughout the course of history with the use of enlightening, but confusing tables and charts.
The best quote comes from “Platforms” where Johnson is talking about the power of Twitter. “The songbird doesn’t carry the cost of drilling and felling because the knowledge of how to do those things was openly supplied by other species in the chain. She just needs to know how to tweet” (Johnson 210).
Since reading this book, “Platforms” has to be my favorite chapter because it is incredibly relevant to current events in 2011, despite being published last year. The power of Twitter has been showcased in the recent conflicts in Egypt and the Middle East. Through social media, the people of these countries were able to unite as one mass and topple dictatorships that have stood for decades. Without the adjacent possible of Twitter and Facebook, these social revolutions could not have happened. Johnson knows this and praises the innovation; not only adjacent possible, but the future possibilities brought by these platforms are what Johnson is truly trying to convey in his book.