7 The ECD Community: A Social Invention (1965–2007)

Just as energy and information were two sides of the ECD coin, so were scientific innovation and social progress. As ECD gained resources and expanded its research programs, its growth allowed Stan and Iris to build a community based on their shared ideals, drawing on the examples of the Ferrer School, the Mohegan Colony, the Workmen's Circle, and political systems they admired. Building this community was itself an act of social invention. Ovshinsky had been working toward it since his early years in Akron and Arizona shops, where he had helped novice machinists and toolmakers develop their skills and had organized reading groups. ECD was designed to be egalitarian and supportive; people were rewarded for merit and given opportunities to develop their fullest potential. “This was how we believed society ought to be,” he said. And just as he claimed “proof of principle” for pilot versions of his technological innovations, he would claim, “I proved a social thing,” and would speak with pride about his success in changing and helping to mold the lives of ECD staff members.