While many contributions do require significant tools & investment, there are still plenty of sectors where individuals can make massive contributions. For exam

While many contributions do require significant tools & investment, there are still plenty of sectors where individuals can make massive contributions. For example Ben Choi leveraged mostly public knowledge and a few thousand $ to develop a low-cost neural prosthetic in high school. Having been to enough hackathons, this caliber of project, though uncommon is also not rare. The surface area for innovation is so huge, and the flexibility afforded by individuals/small groups is so significant that major breakthroughs continue to be made without backing. Many of these inventions could be readily transformed into significant business ventures but, without patent protection, would be easily beat out by companies with the resources to build out manufacturing nearly instantly.