Spot recombination opportunities hiding in plain sight

Innovation is often a remix of existing ideas in new contexts. Remember sliced bread? It was just bread plus machinery plus packaging, plus a sprinkle of serendipity—a recombination of four basic elements.

In genetics, we call this ‘recombinant innovation’: nature’s way of remixing DNA to yield novel species. In human tech, it’s our way of stacking past inventions—fire, levers, chemistry, glass—into fresh systems.

When Leonardo da Vinci studied birds to design wings, he cross-pollinated biology with flight mechanics. When the container ship was born, it fused trucking, stevedoring and shipping lanes into a unified system, transforming trade.

Your next big idea might be under your nose—two unconnected tools in your kitchen, an app and a hobby. Imagine how fusing them could solve an unmet need. That’s the power of recombination—finding the chromosome of invention hiding in plain sight.

First, list each component of a tool you love, tracing its ‘ancestry.’ Then, draw a Venn diagram that merges two everyday items you’ve never paired before, noting their combined features. Finally, take a low-fidelity stab at their mash-up—duct tape and kitchen scraps will do. Often, an impromptu prototype sparks insights that a clean board can’t provide. Give it a spin tonight.