How to rank the impact of innovations on humanity and how much they really changed the world.

Everything seems so important these days:

• A new iPhone update changes EVERYTHING
• This war will BREAK the economy
• If you feed your toddler THIS, you don't deserve to be a parent...

Learn to rationally understand what matters to humanity and what is just noise.

It's easy to tell that the invention of Writing itself is more important than Velcro. But...

• Is Netflix more important than Baseball?
• Has TikTok changed the world as much as the Longbow?
• Was Steve Jobs more impactful than Henry VIII?

History has opinions.

So it's time to build a scale that lets us rationally measure global impact.

Introducing the Innovation Richter Scale - a 1 to 10 rating system that lets you rank absolutely anything you can think of.

NOTE - This episode expands on the Technological Richter Scale proposed by Nate Silver. (see references)

ABOUT

How to Change the World is an independent podcast on a mission.

It is written, edited, and recorded entirely by Sam Webster Harris. (He also makes the music)

Designs were crafted by Francisca Correia.

References

Nate Silver - One The Edge (2024)

Nate's book is about risk analysis and the future of AI. The final chapter proposes a Technological Richter Scale, with a page on how to use it.

Zvi Mowshowitz - AI and the Technological Richter Scale (2025)

A good summary of Nate's ideas, on how the scale applies to AI. Also quotes Nate's page guide for each level and argues a few changes.

Grant Lichtman - Innovation: Are We Overlooking "Magnitude" With "Frequency" (2013)

A short blog that suggests it might be nice to use a logarithmic Richter scale or a Madonna curve to measure innovation.

Chapters:

00:00 Innovation Richeter Scale

01:47 Why create a Scale?

03:47 Earthquake Metaphor

06:16 Invention, Innovation, Technology

06:56 Ranking Magnitude not Morality

08:08 The Innovation Richter Scale - Level 1 - 10

08:11 Level 1 - Shower thoughts

08:29 Level 2 - Actioned Idea (In private)

08:49 Level 3 - Public ideas (Not popular)

10:17 Level 4 - Popular and commercial ideas

11:08 Level 5 - Defining Brand

12:38 Level 6 - Innovation of the year

15:59 Level 7 - Innovation of the Decade

18:19 Level 8 - Innovation of the Century

21:29 Level 9 - Innovation of the Era

23:53 Level 10 - Species Epoch

28:31 Part 2 - Using the scale

29:45 Weapons & Tools of Death - Brands, Categories and Concepts

33:58 Politics & Population Impact - Local, Continental and Global

38:00 Questions without answers

38:38 Sports & Religion - Emotional Impact and Purpose

41:01 Peter Thiel and Chess

41:47 Religion and Personal Beliefs in interpreting the scale

43:33 Roundup conclusions

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