"New ideas in technology are literally a dime-a-dozen, or cheaper than that"
About this Quote
Kamen’s line is a reality check aimed squarely at the romance of invention. “New ideas” sound precious in the way we talk about tech - the lone genius, the lightning bolt, the breakthrough. He punctures that mythology with a phrase borrowed from bargain bins: dime-a-dozen. Then he twists the knife: “or cheaper than that.” The real target isn’t creativity; it’s complacency. If ideas are abundant, they’re not the scarce resource worth idolizing.
The intent is almost managerial: stop fetishizing ideation and start respecting execution. In a world where anyone can sketch an app, prompt a prototype, or spin up a demo, the marketplace is crowded with “new” that’s merely different, not meaningful. Kamen, an inventor associated with high-profile engineering and commercialization, is speaking from the trenches where the hard part isn’t conceiving a gadget but making it work reliably, safely, affordably, and at scale. Engineering is where ideas go to be humiliated by physics, regulation, supply chains, and human behavior.
The subtext reads as an ethical argument, too. Tech culture loves novelty because novelty sells and signals intelligence. Kamen’s contempt for cheap ideas hints at the cost of that bias: attention gets pulled toward shiny concepts while the unglamorous work - manufacturing, maintenance, infrastructure, accessibility - is underfunded and underpraised.
Contextually, it lands as a rebuke to pitch-deck culture and “move fast” bravado. Kamen is saying: innovation isn’t the thought. It’s the follow-through, and that’s where value actually gets earned.
The intent is almost managerial: stop fetishizing ideation and start respecting execution. In a world where anyone can sketch an app, prompt a prototype, or spin up a demo, the marketplace is crowded with “new” that’s merely different, not meaningful. Kamen, an inventor associated with high-profile engineering and commercialization, is speaking from the trenches where the hard part isn’t conceiving a gadget but making it work reliably, safely, affordably, and at scale. Engineering is where ideas go to be humiliated by physics, regulation, supply chains, and human behavior.
The subtext reads as an ethical argument, too. Tech culture loves novelty because novelty sells and signals intelligence. Kamen’s contempt for cheap ideas hints at the cost of that bias: attention gets pulled toward shiny concepts while the unglamorous work - manufacturing, maintenance, infrastructure, accessibility - is underfunded and underpraised.
Contextually, it lands as a rebuke to pitch-deck culture and “move fast” bravado. Kamen is saying: innovation isn’t the thought. It’s the follow-through, and that’s where value actually gets earned.
Quote Details
| Topic | Technology |
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