Stephen Dubner

And many of the products we all use today were developed not in the R&D lab of a big company, but in the garage of some home inventor. Eric von Hippel is an economist at MIT. He co-founded the MIT Entrepreneurship Program. We spoke with him a few years ago for an episode about the power of home invention. The episode was called Honey, I Grew the Economy.

OK, so maybe the Raman Now machine wouldn't be quite as revolutionary as the PC, but it looks like we'll never know.

OK, so maybe the Raman Now machine wouldn't be quite as revolutionary as the PC, but it looks like we'll never know.

OK, so maybe the Raman Now machine wouldn't be quite as revolutionary as the PC, but it looks like we'll never know.

Jill Hoffman lives in Washington, D.C. She is in her 50s. She has worked as a chef, a caterer, a docent at the Smithsonian. She worked for a few nonprofit organizations.

Jill Hoffman lives in Washington, D.C. She is in her 50s. She has worked as a chef, a caterer, a docent at the Smithsonian. She worked for a few nonprofit organizations.

Jill Hoffman lives in Washington, D.C. She is in her 50s. She has worked as a chef, a caterer, a docent at the Smithsonian. She worked for a few nonprofit organizations.

But she never gave up.

But she never gave up.

But she never gave up.

When Hoffman says that everybody else succeeded, she's talking about her family.

When Hoffman says that everybody else succeeded, she's talking about her family.

When Hoffman says that everybody else succeeded, she's talking about her family.

I knew about the Routans through my oldest brother, Joe. He's a former Air Force pilot who fell in love with those experimental planes. He built and flew a couple of them himself. My brother is a pretty irreverent guy about most things in the world, but not the Routans. He considers them aviation royalty, as does Jill Hoffman.

I knew about the Routans through my oldest brother, Joe. He's a former Air Force pilot who fell in love with those experimental planes. He built and flew a couple of them himself. My brother is a pretty irreverent guy about most things in the world, but not the Routans. He considers them aviation royalty, as does Jill Hoffman.

I knew about the Routans through my oldest brother, Joe. He's a former Air Force pilot who fell in love with those experimental planes. He built and flew a couple of them himself. My brother is a pretty irreverent guy about most things in the world, but not the Routans. He considers them aviation royalty, as does Jill Hoffman.

Jill Hoffman also fell in love with the family business. And about 10 years ago, she had an idea that she thought was worthy of her heritage. There had been a lot of talk about a pilot shortage in the U.S. Her idea would make it easier for people to learn to fly. She started a company called Path to Flight in 2016.

Jill Hoffman also fell in love with the family business. And about 10 years ago, she had an idea that she thought was worthy of her heritage. There had been a lot of talk about a pilot shortage in the U.S. Her idea would make it easier for people to learn to fly. She started a company called Path to Flight in 2016.

Jill Hoffman also fell in love with the family business. And about 10 years ago, she had an idea that she thought was worthy of her heritage. There had been a lot of talk about a pilot shortage in the U.S. Her idea would make it easier for people to learn to fly. She started a company called Path to Flight in 2016.

Her idea was kind of like Airbnb, connecting people who have a spare bedroom with someone who needs a bedroom. Or like Uber, connecting people who have a car with someone who needs a ride. Simple, right? In her case, she was connecting people who wanted to learn to fly with flight schools in their area.