Gavin Wood Talks: The Test and Essence of Innovation for Pioneers

Gavin Wood, co-founder of Ethereum and the architect of Polkadot. Through a three-hour in-depth conversation, he candidly shared his career, blockchain philosophy, and the “struggles of being ahead of the times.” Here are his honest thoughts.

Obsession with a “Safe Environment” Shaped by Childhood Experiences

Gavin Wood’s life has not been smooth sailing. Growing up in a single-parent household, he was exposed to violence from his father during childhood. “I don’t remember being hit, but I have very strong memories of that period in my life, mainly feeling abandoned,” he recounts.

This experience had a profound impact on his personality development later in life. Today, what he values most is a “safe environment.” The instability of his childhood may paradoxically have transformed into a motivation to bring order and safety through technology.

Although Gavin Wood prefers self-analysis, he has never undergone formal psychotherapy. “He advocates for a ‘free spirit,’ and for him, confronting the past and moving forward are ongoing processes.”

EVM and Polkadot: Ideas That Naturally Emerge Like a Jigsaw Puzzle

How do big ideas come into being? Gavin Wood provided an unexpected answer.

“I think ideas come out spontaneously. There’s no need to do anything intentionally; they just come.”

During walks, showers, or simply when thinking casually, multiple elements in his mind combine “like a jigsaw puzzle” in fragments. Both EVM and Polkadot emerged from this subconscious integration process.

This approach differs significantly from Elon Musk’s. Musk sets a clear goal, like “going to Mars,” and then works backward to develop the necessary technology. In contrast, Gavin Wood believes in “incremental innovation.” He creatively recombines existing elements—mathematics, engineering, human perception, market services, open-source software—to generate new value.

“A true ‘idea’ is about having a path or method to achieve something. These are essentially reconfigurations of basic elements,” he defines.

The Essence of Japanese Culture and Humor: Shared Cryptic Interpretation

Now owning a home in Japan, Gavin Wood reflects on why he is captivated by Japanese culture.

“Service is truly wonderful, and it’s clear that every detail is carefully considered,” he says. Even though he loves British-style Indian curry, pub ales, pies, and fish & chips, he finds Japan’s hospitality culture exceptional.

He also deeply analyzed “humor.” According to him, humor is “a shared cryptic interpretation” and heavily dependent on culture. The differences in humor between Tokyo and Osaka reflect the ways in which relationships are formed in those regions.

“Humor relies heavily on shared perspectives, shared ways of understanding, and shared worldviews. Therefore, it’s not necessarily directly linked to intelligence.”

The Core of Technology and the Challenges for Pioneers: The Need for Market-Understandable Language

The sharding technology designed by Gavin Wood became the core of Polkadot but also its biggest challenge. He sarcastically describes Ethereum as “the project that has produced the most billionaires in history,” and dismisses meme coins as “nonsense.”

The greatest challenge is the unavoidable fate faced by innovators: “Being ahead of your time leads to misunderstandings.”

He cites the examples of the internet and email. When the internet first appeared, people only understood the simple benefit that “messages could be delivered in minutes instead of a day.” Because people could grasp this basic convenience, the internet spread and eventually changed the world.

“It’s necessary to explain ideas in words that the market and target audience can understand. That’s why most disruptive inventions start with simple use cases.”

He admits that similar misunderstandings are happening with the JAM protocol currently under development. How to explain the innovation of complex protocols in words that the market can understand—this is an eternal challenge for all innovators, not just technologists.

Deep Intellectual Understanding Creates Next-Generation Systems

Solving big problems requires more than just stacking small solutions. Gavin Wood seeks “deep intellectual understanding.”

He cites early 20th-century theoretical research as an example. At that time, no one knew what the research would be used for. Yet, without that theoretical foundation, inventions like lasers and CDs would not have been possible.

“I am not talking about ‘if deployed, transaction volume will increase by 10% tomorrow,’ but about developing a new understanding of engineering. If applied correctly, this could become part of next-generation systems, potentially increasing transaction volume by 1000%, or even 100,000%.”

He emphasizes structural understanding over immediate results. Long-term intellectual innovation over short-term gains. He believes this mindset will lead blockchain technology to the next stage and bring about a true technological revolution.

What emerged from his three-hour interview was a picture of the struggles of an innovator and his relentless pursuit of intellectual discovery.