Wednesday, May 14, 2014
A Good Imagination
"To invent you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." Thomas Edison
When I was growing up, one of my favorite hobbies was building models. Probably the most fun was when I’d ignore the instructions and make up my own ideas with some parts that the model kit provided, but usually from stuff I’d find around my room. My inventions weren’t to specifications, but they were always originals- and despite the improvisational look they may have had, I was very proud of my efforts. Creativity really is not about the actual ingredients, but the ability to put ideas together. Edison uses the term, ‘junk’, because in great inventions the actual parts without their context truly are junk. In fact, think of a junkyard and all that is found in the giant heaps of massive discarded matter. I think we often look at our situations like this. We need solutions, but all around us we see a bunch of junk. Our moment of invention really comes from our ability to step back and realize that our imagination can turn the pile of scrap into something innovative. It’s how the first light bulb was made. A lot of imagination and a pile of junk. Look around, improvise and allow your imagination to change the specifications you see.
When I was growing up, one of my favorite hobbies was building models. Probably the most fun was when I’d ignore the instructions and make up my own ideas with some parts that the model kit provided, but usually from stuff I’d find around my room. My inventions weren’t to specifications, but they were always originals- and despite the improvisational look they may have had, I was very proud of my efforts. Creativity really is not about the actual ingredients, but the ability to put ideas together. Edison uses the term, ‘junk’, because in great inventions the actual parts without their context truly are junk. In fact, think of a junkyard and all that is found in the giant heaps of massive discarded matter. I think we often look at our situations like this. We need solutions, but all around us we see a bunch of junk. Our moment of invention really comes from our ability to step back and realize that our imagination can turn the pile of scrap into something innovative. It’s how the first light bulb was made. A lot of imagination and a pile of junk. Look around, improvise and allow your imagination to change the specifications you see.
# posted by Unknown @ 10:56 PM 
