Why Real Breakthroughs Are Not One Person’s Victory
What EDM Reveals About the Twin Structure of Scientific Innovation EDM is not just a better academic metric. It points to a deeper truth: real breakthroughs often emerge through parallel convergence, not singular genius. A new paper on the Embedding Disruptiveness Measure (EDM) — a method designed to detect truly disruptive science — raises an old question: why do we remember breakthroughs as if they belonged to one person? In recent weeks, much of my writing has focused on AI infrastructure, supply-chain leverage, and the hidden concentration of power beneath the semiconductor stack. But behind those industrial bottlenecks lies a deeper upstream question that has stayed with me: how do real breakthroughs actually emerge, and why are they so often remembered as the victory of a single name? ...