Innovation and Tweaking

The world economy is driven by innovation. Inventors finding a better way of doing things. People finding a better way is part of our DNA and we have been doing it a long time. The Tigris and Euphrates valley which is now part of Iraq is considered the "Cradle of Civilization". In about 6500 BC the hunters and gatherers discovered that certain stalks of grain had changed (mutated) so that the seeds were held on the stalks longer and not spread by the wind. In nature, this mutation would be a death sentence as it would leave all the seeds vulnerable to weather and varmits. The Mesopotamians used this mutation to harvest more grain and when planted intentionally in prepared fields saved them days of hunting for the wild versions. This enabled a society to be built to replace the nomadic lifestyle they had enjoyed previously. People became specialists, farmers, hunters etc. With new found free time they began to invent and civilization has never been the same. Once people settled down in communities the sense of property ownership led to conflict over territory, water and natural resources. Innovation for hunting and killing evolved from killing animals for food to killing opponents in war. Bows and arrows and swords and knives led to guns. Catapults and other seige machines led to cannons and artillery and ultimately to planes and nuclear weapons. Each innovation was driven by trying to get better at killing but the ultimate goal was peace and prosperity.
Fast forward now to modern day inventions. From the spinning machines that began the industrial revolution in England to the steam boiler, to multiple farm innovations like the threshing machine, the cotton gin, the corn picker, cow milking machine, reaper, tractor, haying equipment and  crop rotation. Agricultural innovation has allowed modern farmers to feed the world. Innovation at each level and each age of society has started with inventors who saw a need for a better way but has been further developed by tweakers. These innovators have taken inventions by others and made them better. The tweakers of the world have given us personal computer that get smaller, faster, and cheaper every year, a system based on the Internet that has revolutionized communication, digital everything, solar panels, windmills, geothermal heating systems, automobiles, planes, trains and many many more. We owe our modern society to tweakers.