Less than ten hands go up in a sea of listeners. Dr. Snyder, Professor and Chair of Genetics at Stanford University, asked the audience to raise their hands if they wanted a free genetic diagnosis that would enlighten patients on their risks for numerous chronic diseases. “I wouldn’t like to be cast in Gattaca: The Sequel,” replied an audience member only half-jokingly.

Advancements like personalized genetic profiling, 3D printing, self-driving cars and the Internet of Things have the potential to revolutionize healthcare, manufacturing, transportation and data management. The general public often fails to recognize the potential of new inventions and dismisses them as unreasonable, trivial or immoral. This is far from an unprecedented problem.

In the early 20th century, aviation took off in popularity following the success of the Wright Brothers but was only available to rich hobbyists and the military. Entrepreneurs looked at what happened to the car and believed the same trend would appear in the aviation industry: smaller, mass-produced, cheap vehicles made for widespread individual use.

The idea of commuting to work everyday in one-man mini-helicopters sounded even more ridiculous in a time when horse-drawn carriages were a common sight, so the idea was quickly scrapped. Any hope for a plane for civilians was dead. By 2012, however, over 800 million civilians traveled on a transcontinental or international airplane.

Human nature resists change, especially when the status quo is comfortable. By telling ourselves that “car travel is safe enough” or “chronic diseases are a rare, unfortunate aspect of life”, we lose the desire to further enhance fields that have room for improvement.

Innovation is not something a legendary entrepreneur of the past achieved; it is an ongoing process that requires effort from all members of society to support. Apple, a tech-titan that revolutionized the personal computer and smartphone industries under the leadership of Steve Jobs, is slowing down in its innovation. While still releasing successful new products, most releases only improve on previously established models, nothing truly revolutionary. Companies, formerly at the spearhead of innovation, are losing their pioneer status and becoming mature, stable organizations.

In order to continue growth, we must allow new ideas to incubate and display their potential become the next revolutionary idea. Constructive criticism rarely inhibits innovation; it can assist in the positive development of new ideas derived from old, flawed ideas. But rejecting an innovative approach or idea based off problems we have with a novel, unrefined proposal is as ludicrous as airplane commutes.

This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on May 13, 2015.