Seeing The Adjacent Possible in the Gutenberg Printing Press

Think of the adjacent possible as the liminal space that exists between the present state of your knowledge and the future possibilities that could emerge from what you don’t yet know.

If you find that definition too abstract, how about this quote by Steven Johnson from his book “Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation.”

The adjacent possible is a kind of shadow future, hovering on the edges of the present state of things, a map of all the ways in which the present can reinvent itself. Yet it is not an infinite space, or a totally open playing field.

Okay, I’ll admit, that’s really not any more clear. Apparently, there’s something about the concept that inspires one to wax poetic.

This one may be better explained with a clear and simple example.

The Gutenberg Printing Press

As a writer, one of my favorite examples of the adjacent possible is Gutenberg’s printing press, a revolutionary invention made possible by combining multiple existing technologies.

• Ink use goes back to the 26th century B.C. in Ancient Egypt and China.
• Paper was invented in the 2nd century B.C. in China.
• Movable type, which…