Can informality grow our economy?

Kenya: Donald Glaser won a Nobel Prize in physics in 1960 for, among other things, inventing the bubble chamber used to detect sub-atomic particles (you will recall these if you did not sleep during your physics lessons). It is claimed, though he refuted it, that he got the inspiration to design the chamber from beer.

Whether Glaser’s bubble chamber idea came from beer or not, it is an indicator that great ideas do not necessarily come from seminars, conferences or high-powered meetings. They can result from very informal situations, from parties to a walk in the park.