|
Domain |
Explanation |
|
Inventing |
- To Invent is to think, to reason, to fashion tools, build machines that help us
- Inventing is the act or implementation of invent
- Inventions are the end or even the by-products of inventing
- Inventions come in 2 forms:
- Tools & equipments:
the physical aspect of inventions that are most commonly attributed
- Methodologies:
the organizational, ordering & structuring of physical, social & conceptual approaches to overcome obstacles
|
|
The six basic machines |
- The inclined plane
- The wedge
- The lever
- The wheel
- The pulley
- The screw
|
|
History of inventions |
|
|
Patents |
|
|
Four methods of invention |
- Accidental
- Surprisingly, there are quite a few things that were invented for one task, but happened to work better for something else. There are also inventions that came about completely as an accident. An unattended stove and a pot of rubber led to Vulcanization, a process that makes rubber harder and stronger.
- Forced
- This usually results from extensive research. Someone says e have this [theory, material, idea] that is revolutionary! It must be good for something...? There are never markets for ideas, only products. The new concept must be package or forced into an invention that will sell. The telephone was a gimmick and a novelty at first. No one seriously thought it would have any application.
- Necessary
- There are times when the toll for a job does not exist. Inventors, with whatever they have at hand, set about creating it. The tool itself is usually only made to help attain some finished product, but is itself a novel and patentable invention
- Redesign
- This is by far the most common form of invention. It usually occurs when something is almost but not quite right for the task at hand. If the invention were only a little smaller or a little bigger or lighter of faster or heavier or slower or... If an existing invention can be modified or combined with something else to give unexpected results, then there is enough novelty in the invention for it to be patented.
|
|
Suggested criteria for selecting these 100 inventions |
- Impact: Kind of Impact the invention has on civilisation after widespread use
- Change: Change the way we see ourselves as a species
- Inspiration: Open the door to other inventions
- Influence: Affects our daily lives in a ubiquitous, albeit subtle way
|
|
Why inventions? |
- There are 3 stages of inventions:
- Initiation stage: where an unforeseen need, motivation or urge arises
- Research stage: further focusing on the need & motivation to develop the underlying concepts into concrete ideas & then setting up for experimentation; creating & solving all obstacle problems
- Marketing stage: the finished inventions need to be introduced & managed in its societal usage development; ill-guided management signal the nail in the coffin to all past efforts
|
|
Marketing inventions |
- Protecting your idea:
- Determining marketability:
- Does it really work?
- Is it unique?
- Is there a real market?
- Positioning your invention:
- Attracting investors:
- Quality
- Synergy: works well together, high fitness
- Research
- Unique benefits
- Saves money for the customer
- Testimonials: to overcome common initial rejection of news
- Sales
- Low start-up costs
- Commands strong margins
- Fully developed
- Intellectual property: patent
- Enough funds to test market
- Avoiding scams:
causing premature deaths of new products
- Paranoid inventor: refuses to discuss inventions with others who might add value
- Omnipotent inventor: disregard competitors & market
- Greedy inventor: holding out up-front money & too high royalty
- Impatient inventor: impatience, premature giving-up
- Empty-nest inventor: refusing to let sinking inventions go
- Emotional inventor: invention animism, take criticisms of inventions as criticisms of self
- Deaf inventor: do not want to hear what others say
- Flake inventor: using eccentric tactics that upset & annoy people with whom he is dealing
- Procrastinating inventor: not serious about what they do, just hobbyists, takes too long to make critical decisions
- Inventor who fears success: sabotage own inventions
|
|
Findings |
- What distinguishes us from other animals or inventors amongst us from others are:
- Inventiveness:
ability to perceive the need, envision the solution, implement the idea & manage its growth
- Rate of inventiveness:
the speed, dexterity & focused approach to propagating inventions
- Continuity of inventiveness:
a single invention should not be regarded as a stand-alone, instead it can be seen as a newly discovered piece of jigsaw puzzle - we can create favourable conditions for other needs to arise for new inventions to come
- Sustainability of inventiveness:
inventiveness, the act of inventions, should be permanent, continuous & self-sustaining; it should become a way of living, instead of a one-hit wonder
- 2 forms of inventions: tools & methodologies
- 4 methods of inventions: accidental, forced, necessary, redesgin
- 4 criteria for inventions: impact, change, inspiration, influence
- 3 stages of inventions: initiation, research, marketing
- 4 differentiation: inventiveness, rate, continuity & sustainability
|