Recently I read an interview on Larry Page; co-founder of Google, and most of his answers were simply brilliant. Larry Page - http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/29/magazines/fortune/larry_page_change_the_world.fortune/index2.htm .
 
He speaks a lot about Innovation and the why there needs to be more risk taking behavior in technology. Risk taking was what leaded to all the great inventions of the last century and it is needed to drive us into the future. Here are two examples of innovation which were brought on by non-traditional means that have changed the way we view the world;