From Xeroxing to Googling: an obituary for creativity

Joseph Schumpeter was a genius and his language supported that. He coined the term ‘creative destruction’. Simply put, creative minds come up with new products or services that render the existing products or services obsolete - they ‘destroy’ them. The gramophone was destroyed by cassette player which was destroyed by CD player. The destruction continued when the CD player was laid to rest by the iPod. The same applies to other sectors and industries.

Telegrams were destroyed by short messages or SMSes. And credit and debit cards will be destroyed by M-Pesa. The horse carriage was destroyed by the car, which has proved surprisingly resilient. We could go on. As long as creativity thrives, such destruction will remain. Kodak was destroyed by the digital camera, which paradoxically it invented. The question that remains is if creativity itself can be destroyed.