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"Innovation Hack: The Law of Rich Input"

“Garbage in, Garbage out” is a maxim that comes from the world of computing.

It makes sense in that world, because computers use logical processes.
If incorrect data is put into the machine, then incorrect data comes out.
In fact, the inventor of the first programmable computing device design, Charles Babbage, was asked about this on two different occasions:
“If you put wrong figures into the machine, will the right answers come out?”
His response is classic:
“I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question.”
What’s fascinating is that this took place in 1822, the year he developed his design for what he called “the difference engine” — the first programmable computing device. That’s not a typo. 1822.
We should learn from that.
But too many of us are so focused on mundane, day-to-day tasks that we forget that we need rich input to generate richer output.
The old maxim, “Garbage in, Garbage out,” holds true for innovation as much as it does for logical processes — even though innovation, creativity and imagination are frequently anything but logical.
-Bryan Searing

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