# Primes and Platypuses: two prototypical archetypes for innovation

**Published by:** [Pioneering Spirit](https://pioneeringspirit.xyz/)
**Published on:** 2024-06-30
**Categories:** innovation, model, types
**URL:** https://pioneeringspirit.xyz/primes-and-platypuses-two-prototypical-archetypes-for-innovation

## Content

Here's a simple model of two types of new things. Prime numbers are famously hard to find but have an incredibly simple algorithm. Any number that is only divisible by 1 and itself is prime. The platypus breaks beyond existing categorization. Not a mammal or a bird, the platypus both lactates and lays eggs. Some innovations are like prime numbers. There's a known unknown path that can be incredibly difficult to transverse but still follows a well understood algorithm. Think: Moore's law, Jensen Huang at Nvidia, or Toyota's Kaizen model. A platypus by contrast upends old categories and creates a new model. Such innovators can come out of left field. Think: Steve Jobs creating the personal computer or smart phone or Airbnb refactoring hotels.

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