Walking in the dark

It's really fun to shout up naked “EUREKA!! EUREKA!!” and come up with new ideas. Since the invention of wheel, technology has advanced beyond the seven seas. Yet the most exciting phrase one inventor hears over his inventions at first sight is “That's Funny!”
we see most of the inventions taking place in developed countries. What is there in those ppl which is not there in us? The game is all about how you approach and pay attention to your funny ideas.

Graduate level students of MIT Media LAB US Leonardo Bonanni, Chia-Hsun Lee had made a “Smart Sink: Context-Aware Work Surface” which is an intelligent sink that will automatically adjust height of wash basin as per users height for his comfort. It has many others features like automatic water flow and temperature adjustment of water. This wash basin is hence equipped with CCD camera, stepper motor, a PC, a PIC micro-controller, solid state sensors. … A great invention for making comfortable multi-user washbasin!

The point in above is not to make fun of it, but to realize where we lack in our view of seeing and doing things. Had it been the same in India, none would have ever thought to implement it. The main point in invention is “Why did you develop this idea? What were the science and technology trends? How does this work?” You define a problem, and you try to think of its solution which in turn becomes an invention!

Invention is all about “Walking in the dark”; you are stuck infinite times and fail infinite times. Many times you feel there's nothing left to invent… And this is something you will never find in stories of inventions. The well-known stories are about the glorious parts, when someone has a breakthrough. But those stories miss the reality that invention comes in phases. Inventors have periods of great inspiration, but they also have periods when they're dry and confused. And it might sound strange, but believe me that repeat inventors have different methods for dealing with their dry periods than new inventors; there are hidden hazards for new inventors.

In developing countries, the main reason behind lack of invention is “The Innovator's Dilemma”. It arises at different parts of the curve and for other kinds of organizations the inventor works for. Innovation takes place in an ecology in which big technology companies are one kind of important player. And this is why you see the difference in thinking and inventions happening in US, and here in India.

Nonetheless, every person is creative and has the power to invent. The key to invention is very simple but also fundamental. Just ask yourself two questions "What is possible?" and "What is needed?” Once a person identifies a valuable problem, this is the "what is needed" question. When it explores what could be done with emerging technologies, this is the "what is possible" question. The magic is in the dance.

How to approach inventions depends on individuals. Survey and study shows there were four main methods that inventors used, sometimes in combination. One is, some people focus heavily on "what is needed?" and tend to frame everything that they see during the day as part of their search for solving their current problem. By holding the problem in the back of their mind, they see the world differently as part of their search for a solution. We call that method "need-driven.” Next is “Remix” and people just take up every technology and try to mix up each other, apply permutation and combination to each other and come up with better solution!. There are two more methods in which great inventors approach…. Invent or discover yourself!!!