Ruef, Martin. “Strong Ties, Weak Ties and Islands: Structural and Cultural Predictors of Organizational Innovation.” Industrial and Corporate Change 11, no. 3 (2002): 427.

So let us perform an experiment on the data available on the history of innovation. Take roughly two hundred of the most important innovations and scientific breakthroughs from the past six hundred years, starting with Gutenberg’s press: everything from Einstein’s theory of relativity to the invention of air conditioning to the birth of the World W

Most people tend to associate with those similar to themselves—a tendency called homophily. Consequently, groups that might gain from interacting with other groups don’t do so, because group members are more comfortable associating with the people in their own group. This natural tendency to associate with those close to us creates an opportunity f