Evolutionary Ideas: Unlocking ancient innovation to solve tomorrow's challenges

Sam Tatam's book, "Evolutionary Ideas," argues that behavioral science and evolutionary psychology can help us solve tomorrow's challenges by borrowing from yesterdays solutions in unexpected ways. By studying the patterns of human innovation, we can develop more effective ideas more readily and rapidly. Examples include how Japanese engineers reduced bullet train noise by studying the evolved biology of owls and kingfishers, how Disney improved the queueing experience, and how the chocolate at the bottom of a Cornetto ice cream can improve an Error 404 message.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 364 pages
Publication date: 10 May 2022
Publisher: Harriman House Publishing

When faced with new challenges, it's easy to feel that our solutions need to be equally unprecedented. We believe we need a revolution. But what if this is a big mistake? In Evolutionary Ideas, Sam Tatam demonstrates how behavioral science and evolutionary psychology can help us solve tomorrow's challenges, not by divining something the world has never seen, but by borrowing from yesterday's solutions – often in the most unexpected ways. Just as millions of years of evolution have helped craft the wing and dorsal fin, thousands of engineers, designers, marketers, and advertisers have toiled to solve many of the problems you face today. Over time, through intent, design, social learning, and sheer luck, we have found what works. Armed with an enhanced ability to see these patterns in human innovation, we can now systematically approach the creative process to develop more effective ideas more readily and rapidly. Just as Japanese engineers reduced bullet train noise by studying the evolved biology of the owl and kingfisher, today we can see how Disney improved the queueing experience in the same way Houston airport made arrivals feel faster (while making people walk further). We'll learn how the chocolate at the bottom of a Cornetto ice cream can improve an Error 404 message, and what a bowl of M&Ms has in common with a canary in a coal mine. These are Evolutionary Ideas. Exploring five of the most critical challenges we face today, we learn how to 'breed more effective solutions from those that have survived. The result is a dynamic and exciting way of solving problems and supercharging creativity – for anyone in any endeavour.

Weight: 460g
Dimension: 139 x 215 x 33 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780857197870