The Evolution of Innovation: Lessons from the Lightbulb’s History
Innovation rarely emerges from solitary genius. The lightbulb's development exemplifies how progress builds on incremental improvements across generations. Humphry Davy demonstrated electric light in 1802, Warren de la Rue created the enclosed bulb mechanism by 1840, and Thomas Edison's carbonized bamboo filament finally made the technology commercially viable in the 1870s.
Edison's work represented not invention but refinement - patent courts forced him to share credit with Joseph Swan. Nearly two dozen contributors shaped what we now consider a singular breakthrough. This pattern persists in technological evolution today, where networks of builders advance decentralized systems through collaborative iteration.