Sometimes a new technology is so radical that it completely changes the world from a “before” to an “after” the invention. Everybody has heard of revolutionary innovations like AI, blockchain, autonomous vehicles, scorching hot Pringles flavours, and green decentralized energy production. All are radical innovations; all are key enabling technologies. Each will change the world in ways not yet imaginable, with the important side note that there is also synergy between innovations. Having multiple of such profound technologies emerge at the same time is unique in our history and really something else. Think about the implications for a moment—we are indeed living in unique and peculiar times.
Innovation is advancing so rapidly these days that looking into the future is quite difficult. Luckily, we still have our past to learn from. While history never repeats, it often does rhyme. We need to learn the hymns of past radical change to see how technologies alter the course of history. Inventions like the printing press, the telephone, Pringles natural flavor, or steam engines all had profound impacts on the world. There are lesser-known inventions that can fit right into this list of key enabling technologies. Blue LED light was such a radical invention that, in hindsight, changed pretty much every aspect of our lives, raising some interesting questions;
What can we learn from it?
What made it such a key enabling technology, and what kind of repercussions did it have?
How should legacy industries handle radical change and how can novel industries, like the seaweed industry prepare, or better yet profit from such change?
If you were to ask kelp farmers what blue LED lights means to them, you would likely hear more than you are prepared to endure. Blue light is widely accepted in the kelp industry to be a strong trigger for kelp seeds to reproduce sexually and form new small baby kelps (Fig. 1). In other words, instead of red-light districts, kelp seeds need blue-light districts to get their groove on. Those who have read my scientific work might know that I do not blindly accept this theory of blue light. But I digress.... I do believe that blue LED light has a much more profound story to tell kelp farmers and other industries that try to innovate in radical ways.
Fig.1 : A realistic picture of how kelp scientists perceive their newly formed kelplings.
What is so special about blue LED lights that explains the need for this article? Well, in order to explain this magical story properly, we need to take a plane and fly to the Japan of 1993.
Once upon a time, in a world filled with glowing red and green LED lights, there lived a brilliant scientist named Shuji Nakamura with a mission. Born in a small village in Japan, Nakamura always had a fascination with light and color. Before the 1990s, the world was illuminated by red and green LEDs, while the elusive blue LED remained a scientific enigma. Despite limited resources and facing skepticism from his peers, Nakamura worked tirelessly to create the color blue. Through years of persistence, failures, and a couple of “eureka” moments, Nakamura finally made the breakthrough the world was waiting for (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2: How the blue L.E.D eureka moment must have looked like in 1993.
In 1993, he successfully developed the first high-brightness blue LED. This invention was revolutionary, because combining red, green, and blue LEDs now allowed for the creation of bright WHITE light!
Or in more EPIC words:
One colour to rule them all, one colour to find them, one colour to bring them all and in white light bind them (Fig. 3).
Nakamura’s blue LED paved the way for energy-efficient lighting, high-definition displays, and numerous other technologies that we now take for granted. Nakamura’s achievement was recognized globally, and he received numerous accolades, including the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2014. So, every time you look at a vibrant screen or walk under a streetlight, remember the tale of Nakamura, the man who discovered blue light and paved the way for the LED revolution.
Shuji Nakamura’s story is a testament to the power of perseverance and the impact one person’s vision can have on the world. While it is admirable to spend your blood, sweat, and tears on such a project, this is not why I wanted to talk about blue LEDs. The reason blue LEDs are so fascinating is that they are one of the clearest examples of the repercussive effects of solving something called a “reverse salient.”
What on earth is a “reverse salient,” I hear you say? Well, it is one of the most important terms in the field of innovation! At least, that is how I see it.
The reverse salient comes from a little piece of military jargon called the salient, but then reversed. Salient and reverse salient are opposites.
Or, in the words of the great Dave Skylark, “Same same, but different, but still the same.”
In short, a military salient is a protrusion in a battle line that extends into enemy territory, pushing the frontline forward but also becoming a point of vulnerability (Fig. 4). A reverse salient in technology is the complete opposite and refers to a component or sector that lags behind the overall progress of a system, potentially hindering its development or performance.
Fig. 4; A grammatically completely correct visualization of the military salient on the left and reverse salient for the electric car industry on the right.
Science and engineering are filled to the brim with these key enabling technologies or “reverse salients". Technologies that, if they had not been invented, would have kept the whole system back. Another great recent example of a reverse salient are car batteries (Fig. 4). These batteries had notoriously small energy storage capacities, preventing the electric car industry from coming to full fruition. Cars were already there, electricity was already invented, wheels, the road system, and even the electric engine were already on par with the needs of the industry. So, for a long time, it was these batteries that became a reverse salient—a technology that prevented the electric car industry from actually taking off. Just like blue LED lights, the new batteries and charging stations allowed whole new industries to take off.
Over the last decade or so, it has become clear to me that, technologically speaking, the seaweed farming industry still needs to innovate substantially to actually scale. We, the seaweed community, need to realize that there are still reverse salients that need uncovering. We need to think hard and deep (Fig. 5) and come up with the breakthrough technologies, the reverse salients, that might hinder the growth of such wonderful industry.
Figure 5; A completely realistic depiction about how scientist's think hard and deep about scientific breakthroughs.
To get closer to the answer of such a complex question, we can ask ourselves two questions:
What might be the reverse salient or missing link that still prevents the roll-out of large-scale seaweed aquaculture around the world? Be creative, everything goes.
Has the reverse salient already been invented or does its invention still lie in our future?
Let's brainstorm a bit on the possible reverse salient! Is the reverse salient of the seaweed industry a cost-effective farm? Fast-growing seaweed varieties? Unlimited storage facilities? Ultra-pure and cheap biomass refinement? Delicious food applications? Or dare I say... Is it all of the above?
As for the second question (which keeps me up at night):
Do you think that the discovery or invention of this reverse salient lies in our past, present, or future? Because having a concrete answer to thaat question has some serious implications for the strategy we should persue.
Past:
If the necessary invention happened in our past, we already know what we need to know and therefore we should dig deep into our past and become more creative to get it implemented. This is the world of “lateral thinking using withered technology” and this is such an important innovation tool that I need to write a blog about it in the future.
Present:
If the necessary invention happened in the present, we need to speed up the process of validating the process, scale it, test it, pivot, and test again, as hard as possible.
Future:
If the necessary invention is still lying in our future, we need to make sure the surrounding foundations of the industry are ready to sustain a roll-out in case the reverse salient comes to light. And fingers crossed for a new Seaweed Nakamura
To start off the brainstorming session on that second quirky question:
PAST - If you would ask me, the most necessary innovations to any large-scale roll-out of seaweed farming a reality, is luckily already lying in our past. The resulting strategy fir them is to think laterally, using withered technology, to bring its potential to fruition. Lateral thinking asks us to keep our eyes open and be creative with already existing technologies.
PRESENT - There are also some innovations which do not lie in the past, but are in full development as we speak, such as novel seeding and breeding techniques, precision kelp farming, and MAD gametophytes. We need to further validate these technologies, scale it, test it, and where necessary pivot to start all over again and repeat the process.
FUTURE - But there is a mother of all reverse salients. Again, if you would ask me. An overarching reverse salient that in my opinion not only keeps the seaweed industry back, but all regenerative industries.
This innovation is not technical but organizational in nature.
I am talking about innovative business models. Novel ways for seaweed farmers to generate revenue from their farms that, as of yet, are non-existent. For example, regenerative business models that include the value of nature, or honest carbon credit systems. All of whom sadly do not yet fit the current economic value system (as far as I know).
These business models have either not yet been discovered, developed, tested, or validated yet, becoming my reverse salient of focus when it comes to seaweed farming.
But I am optimistic (as always) that other key enabling technologies, other reverse salients that solve this conundrum, are presently in full development! Reverse salients like the blockchain, AI, and novel monitoring techniques are quickly allowing for novel regenerative business models to take root.
With the new insights coming from these new technologies, we can start making the seaweed industry, and other regenerative industries, possible all around the world.
Regenerative business models on themselves are awesome food for thought subjects for a possible future article. Articles where I could be deep diving into rewilding and the much-needed price tag on nature restoration.
Question to you: What do you think is the reverse salient in seaweed cultivation? Let me know in the comments.
Comments