“There was no lightbulb moment in the story of the lightbulb.” — Steven Johnson, How We Got to Now
The Myth of the “Eureka” Moment
The lightbulb holds a special place in our collective imagination, often symbolizing the sudden spark of inspiration—the classic “Eureka!” that has come to define inventiveness for the public. When we picture a lightbulb, we imagine an inventor in a flash of genius, stumbling upon the precise idea that would change the world. Yet, beneath this convenient metaphor lies a rich and nuanced tale of invention, cooperation, and gradual improvement—a story that offers valuable lessons for modern technologists and entrepreneurs alike.
Contrary to the enduring myth, the lightbulb was not brought into being through a solitary flash of brilliance. Instead, it emerged from the determined and collaborative efforts of dozens of innovators over nearly a century, each building upon the last’s achievements. Understanding the true history behind the lightbulb reshapes our perceptions about invention and progress, offering an instructive framework for thinking about today’s technological revolutions.
A Century of Innovation: The True Story of the Lightbulb
While Thomas Edison is the name most frequently associated with the lightbulb, his work was the culmination, not the genesis, of an extended and multifaceted journey. The earliest demonstration of electric light dates all the way back to 1802, when English scientist Humphry Davy first showcased an electric arc lamp, illuminating a glimpse of possibility for artificial lighting.
The subsequent decades were filled with experimentation and incremental progress. In 1840, British scientist Warren de la Rue introduced an enclosed bulb mechanism, a key component that foreshadowed the design of modern electric lamps. Notably, Thomas Edison himself was not even born until 1847—demonstrating just how many individuals laid the groundwork for what would become Edison’s era-defining contribution.
Research into the evolution of the electric lamp industry suggests that some two dozen inventors played a significant role in moving the technology forward during the 19th century. Edison’s inventions built upon the efforts of his predecessors and contemporaries, culminating in the practical, long-lasting, and commercially viable lightbulb.
Edison’s Contribution: Refining and Systematizing Invention
Thomas Edison’s primary breakthrough came in the late 1870s, when he developed a carbonized bamboo filament—a crucial advance that made electric light not only longer-lasting, but also safe and affordable for indoor use. Yet, even at this pivotal moment in the technology’s history, Edison was forced by the courts to share credit with Sir Joseph Wilson Swan, whose version of the lightbulb illuminated both his own home and a public venue: the Savoy Theatre.
This “joint custody” of the lightbulb led to the launch of the “Ediswan incandescent lamp,” a hybrid branding reflecting the intertwined legacies of these luminary figures. But rather than detracting from Edison’s contributions, this historical account highlights a deeper truth: successful innovation is often a collaborative, incremental, and interactive process.
More significantly, Edison’s legacy extends beyond the invention of the lightbulb itself. As author Steven Johnson notes in his exploration of technological history, Edison did not merely invent new technologies—he pioneered a system for systematic invention. By founding corporate research and development (R&D) labs, Edison institutionalized innovation, assembling diverse teams of specialists to collectively tackle problems, share and absorb ideas, and participate in the financial rewards of their collective breakthroughs.
Networked Innovation: The Power of Collaboration
The model Edison spearheaded soon became foundational to modern industry. The proliferation of corporate R&D departments, collaborative project frameworks, and interdisciplinary connections—all hallmarks of today’s innovation economy—were seeded by Edison’s approach. This networked form of invention, where researchers build freely on each other’s ideas and expertise, consistently produces more profound advances than that of the isolated genius laboring in solitude.
This historical reality upends our assumptions about how progress truly happens. If we continue to propagate the myth of the solitary inventor, society is likely to emphasize policies like rigid patent protection, which prioritize individual ownership of innovation. Conversely, recognizing the collaborative nature of great inventions encourages support for less restrictive patent laws, adoption of open standards, greater employee participation in enterprise success, and the fostering of connections that span disciplines and industries.
Learning from the Lightbulb: Open Networks in the Digital Age
What does the story of the lightbulb teach us about the present age of digital transformation and blockchain technology? The parallels are striking. Much like the networked advances that fueled the electric lamp revolution, today’s most influential digital innovations are distinguished by their open, composable, and collaborative nature.
In particular, the world of crypto and blockchain technology embodies the lessons of collaborative invention. Whereas Edison’s enterprise model ultimately relied on patents to maintain proprietary control, history’s most transformative infrastructures—Roman roads, standardized shipping containers, the internet, and the Global Positioning System (GPS)—were created as open public goods. These systems were permissionless, allowing anyone to innovate on top of their foundation and exponentially multiplying their impact.
Christian Catalini, an important voice in the crypto space, notes that money remains one of the last “closed networks”—a domain in which participation is highly gated and proprietary control is paramount. He suggests that the opening of this network through permissionless innovation will create value on a scale that closed systems simply cannot achieve. In essence, transforming money through open digital infrastructure has the potential to be just as revolutionary as the proliferation of open networks in centuries past.
Crypto’s Challenge: Building the Next Foundation
As we reflect on the development arc of the lightbulb, it’s vital to remember that there was never a single “lightbulb moment”—no instant when the technology arrived fully formed. Its ultimate success required distributed efforts across time, each contribution adding to a cumulative whole that only achieved tangible utility when plugged into a broader network of electrical grids and supporting technologies.
Similarly, the transformative potential of cryptocurrency and blockchain is unlikely to crystallize in a single moment of epiphany. Rather, it will be the product of ongoing, collective, and networked innovation that comes to fruition when today’s digital experiments become tomorrow’s indispensable infrastructure. As the open-source crypto movement builds its own variant of an “electrical grid” for the digital economy, it is laying the groundwork for new and unexpected breakthroughs.
Recent years have tested the optimism of crypto enthusiasts, with setbacks and challenges to open-source initiatives. Yet, history’s lesson is clear: breakthroughs come not from isolated effort, but from persistent collaboration, openness, and the continual refinement of shared ideas.
The Future: Waiting for the Lightbulb Moment—Again
The story of the lightbulb reminds us not to wait for mythologized moments of genius. Instead, we should nurture systems and environments that enable the collective progress of many. As the digital economy takes shape, the open networks being built by crypto developers may one day power a new era of interconnected, permissionless innovation—waiting for the visionaries and builders who will illuminate the next great leap forward.
Perhaps, in 2026 or beyond, we will look back and recognize that progress wasn’t about a lone inventor, but a web of collaborative leaps. The lightbulb’s glow came only when everything connected. Crypto aspires to be that connection for the world’s next transformation—an open grid awaiting the ideas that will light up the future.
