Innovation For Innovation's Sake?


As a fan of Japanese entertainment, I can't deny that there are times when something just goes horribly wrong. Innovation may or may not work depending on how it's done and when it's done. Just because somebody innovates doesn't mean it's going to be good. It can be bad or good depending on what kind of innovation was being done. It's not all the time an innovation replaces something. While PCs and laptops have replaced typewriters in producing office documents but electronic books have not replaced paperback. Sure you can reduce stress in working with a PC but you can't deny you still need to print it. Paperback books have not gotten obsolete. The methods have improved but innovation doesn't necessarily get rid of the old in favor of the new.

The problem kicks when when you innovate for the sake of innovating rather than innovating with second thoughts. What's new isn't necessarily better or worse but depends on how it was done. Let's just say you have a mug made from porcelain. But what if somebody decided to make a mug made from radioactive materials? Would you replace the mug you have made from porcelain made from radioactive materials? I wouldn't. I'd stick to my mug made from porcelain than get harmed by a mug made from radioactive materials. Although there are new methods to produce more porcelain ware but it can't be denied something old remained in the midst of something new. The same old principle is porcelain. What's new is the method of manufacturing to create better porcelain.

Video games also prove what's newer isn't always better. I could talk about my favorite video game franchise namely the Tekken series. I think Tekken 1 and Tekken 2 aged badly due to less responsive controls and I don't feel like playing them as much as much anymore. Tekken 3 may be old but it's aged well with better controls. Tekken 4 wasn't better than Tekken 3 due to the overly huge side steps and lack of focus in combat. Tekken 5 fixed the problem and became another hit. Tekken 6 could have been better with all the innovations if it wasn't for that annoying "have to play through Arena Mode in Scenario Campagin" to get the endings. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 so far had a lot of cool innovative concepts that were introduced in several Tekken games in the past. The example shows how innovation can go up and down depending on how it's done.

When it comes to innovation one needs to be selective in some way. Not everything good or bad comes from innovation. While it can make things better, it can also make things worse. It's good to be selective on what changes and what remains the same. When I reject something because it's bad, it doesn't mean I go against innovation. Like am I against innovation if I reject something newer because of its lack of quality or out of personal preference? Not at all. Instead, I'm exercising my right to selective innovation. Just because we're having i-Tunes and the like doesn't mean we should get rid of all classical music altogether, right?

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