Past Event! Note: this event has already taken place.
The Nature of Technological Innovation and the Edison Myth
November 1, 2019 at 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
| Location: | 2nd floor conference room Richcraft Hall |
| Cost: | Free |
RSVP Required
Presenter
Bill Buxton, Partner Researcher, Microsoft Corp.
Abstract
One purpose of this talk is to stick a pin in the overinflated myth of the individual creative genius and our cultural obsession to be first. While such stories may inspire, they point the listener down a path that the inspirational heroes themselves did not follow – and would have failed if they had tried. Creativity and innovation can be taught, and can result from a methodology whose foundation goes back at least to the 12th century and Bernard of Chartres. My story is about why Marcel Duchamp is so important to our practice, and why e-bay may well be more important than all of the 3-D printers in the world combined. It is about the long nose of innovation, and is relevant to teachers, practitioners, and policy makers.
Biography
Bill Buxton: A Partner Researcher at Microsoft Research, Bill has an over 40-year involvement in research, practice and commentary around design, innovation and human aspects of technology. Following a 20-year career as a professional musician, he morphed into a researcher and interaction designer, at the University of Toronto, Xerox PARC, Alias Research and SGI Inc. He has been awarded four honourary doctorates, is co-recipient of an Academy Award for Scientific and Technical Achievement, received an ACM/SIGCHI Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a Fellow of the ACM. Bill has published, lectured and consulted widely, and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto, and a Distinguished Professor of Industrial Design at the Technical University Eindhoven. Other than his family, mountains and rivers are his first love.
For more information, see billbuxton.com