The Inventors.. wonder how they think? (part II)

Salam, 

I'm trying my best to write this post in a proper way (plus without mixing with Bahasa words, ..). You can view the part 1 of this post here. I hope this will be useful for those who want to become a successful inventor.


Credit to Reader's Digest (August, 2009). 

So, five ways to think like the inventors:

1. They constantly ask, "What if?"

Ok, this is a sort of the if-else statement in html coding too (hmm...is it a clear example?). The nature of asking "what if?" restlessly is the root of the impulse to invent something new. It's about living a life of curiosity, just like a child before sleep, forever tinkering.

2. They delight in process. 

Every step to find and discover something is a eureka moment. This attitude will helps you to have a supreme ability to delay gratification (pleasure/ satisfaction) as inventions may take years to come to fruition. 

3. They see the world as a child does.

Katie Bell, who was on the winning design team with Sakaguchi, said that the most creative inventors retain a sense of childlike wonder about the world around them. 

Let's say you are given a pot and a spoon. What you may think? Most of you may think of cooking but he kid may see a musical instrument, banging on the pot just want to hear what sound will come out. Believe it or not, the kid acts just like what inventors do. <--Toronto's Mark Ellwood (former head of the Inventors' Alliance in Canada) gave this example. 

4. They are dreamers. 

Feeling headache where on earth you will find the creative thinking in yourself? Don't worry, it's not necessary (says psychology researcher, Robert Epstein, a visiting scholar at the University of California, San Diego). He said that many of us have thought up fascinating and potentially quite marketable ideas, but the inventors are risk takers. 

At some point, we're told to stop daydreaming. In contrast, inventors never stop, they even pay close attention to their dreams..say them aloud and act on them. 

5. They aren't easily encouraged. 

When the rejection is common to inventors, they have the ability to persevere. 

"Remember the parable of the fleas in the jar. These fleas will start to jump, hit the jar lid. As the time passes, they'll still jump, but not as high, knowing they can't escape. Eventually, when you remove the lid, the fleas will not jump as high as possible to escape because they are already trapped by their own sense of confinement."

-Rob Walker, who was working in marketing for an aerospace company. 

Any inventor is not a flea in the jar, right?

Hence, to become a successful inventor, it's always advisable not to put limitations on yourself or let your surroundings limit you. 

:)
Next post may be after my presentation to my supervisor!