Even though jim sullivan designed it and ruger made and marketed it,in the beginning they marketed it to the military as a possible replacement to the M16 so the design is patterned after the M14,ultimately it was adopted as a police weapon and popular with the comercial market,But I think by what they named it the intent was clear, a small version of M14 in the caliber of the M16, so I think what he meant by his question is what can the mini 14 be compared to that makes it a mini 14, design and Idea wise,I wouldnt exactly call it a new thought up idea, even though its a fairly new type rifle it takes from 2 previous made weapons designs,M14 and M1 carbine, so the mini 14 is not a revolutionary design,it simply incorporates already known technology into a scaled down,lighter, modern caliber rifle,but of course the M16 being already ahead of its time and the mini 14 not holding up to the abuse of military testing,the M16 proved it didnt need replacing,so I think it can fairly be compared to weapons it borrows its design from,so the intent to market it to the military I think makes it the mini-14.and the design behind it the M14 for the action and the gas system of the M1 carbine to keep it small or mini if you will.