Google has always been in the business of innovation and redefinition, but secrecy has never been much of a hot button for the company. When it comes to the products Google is most well known for — Android, Chrome, Maps and other web services — the higher-ups are usually fairly open about their aims and what the general public can expect. Unlike Apple, Google isn’t open about having secrets — even it’s secrets are secret.

Google X, popularly shortened to Google[x], is a program implemented to put some of the world’s best minds (and best money) into creating incredibly innovative products — most of which never see the light of day.

So little is known about this program that the number of indisputable facts about it could likely be counted on two hands. To be sure, though, the program does indeed exist, and a select few innovations have made it outside of the program’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., including one that surfaced just a few          days ago.

“Project Loon” is an idea that may bring Internet access to the entire world by way of high-flying balloons. According to Google, the balloons will bring broadband Internet to the two out of three people who don’t have it, and improve long-range communication following natural disasters — two goals that few could argue are off-base and bad for humanity. 

It would, however, be much easier to argue against this project if it were simply an idea at this stage. If Google still needed funding to implement this technology, or the company was unsure of how to launch these balloons, it would likely never get off the ground — pun intended.

For these reasons, Google[x] must maintain utmost secrecy when spending its investors’ dollars; even the investors are in the dark on where their money goes.That way, projects like Glass, Loon or even Google’s self-driving cars can get fully funded and innovators like Google co-founder Sergey Brin can entertain multiple possibilities for any proposed idea they decide to take off running with. It’s truly a business model that more powerhouse companies should invest in.

Without investors or news syndicates knocking down the door, a company can loosen up and actually think outside the box. Sure, Apple is secretive, but they like people to know it. Don’t let anyone fool you. Leaks are rarely unplanned, and Apple lets out exactly what it knows will get people riled up. Outside of Google[x], true secrecy is a rarity, except for Area 51, perhaps.

With the advent of the Internet, information is a commodity, and people can’t handle not  knowing everything about something they’re sure exists, which is why Google[x] is such a great idea. Don’t let anyone know you’re working on something,  and they won’t care about it — at least until it’s officially released. More companies should step up and follow Google’s example, providing humanity with the products and ideas it’s brightest minds are capable of.

Connor Tarter is a 21-year-old communication studies senior from Dallas, Texas.