Not every innovation is new, not every novelty is innovation: The false pioneering spirit

Marcela Peterson

In a world increasingly driven by visibility and competition for attention, the label of “pioneer” has become a kind of badge of prestige, often more tied to narrative than fact. The problem is not promoting a work. It is positioning oneself as the first, as if nothing had existed before. This is not only dishonest — it is a kind of erasure. It ignores past paths, people who faced resistance, who built foundations and paved the way without ever claiming their place.

A pioneer, by definition, is someone who does something for the first time in a given context, opening a path where there was none before. It is someone who ventures into uncharted territory, facing uncertainty, doubt, and often hostility.

Being a pioneer is not doing something based on what already exists or when the ground is already prepared. It is doing it when no one is watching, when no one understands, when support is scarce and criticism is abundant. Being a pioneer requires courage, consistency, and above all, the humility to recognize that no one builds anything great alone.

Self-declaring oneself a pioneer without being one reveals more about vanity than about innovation. And those who truly follow the field, know the history, and respect the work of others, can clearly recognize the difference.

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