Friday, April 24, 2009

"Need is mother of Invention"-- is it ?


Why to we keep trying to understand things all the time? Trying to justify evrything on the name of curiousity, and trying to theorise evrything on the name of logic and science. Why not to leave things like a black box from where we can get a desired output when we give it an input. Lets talk about it for a while.
QM: Questioning me, JM: Justifying me

QM: So whats the meaning in finding the reason and logic behind evrything?
JM: When we underststand systems and we know how they work, we can modify them and find new systems with more desired output and for a given input.

QM: But we can also understand systems as a black box, we know whats the output for a given input, and keep changing the input and standerise the input-output respons and hence use the system for the desired output. Its easier isnt it ?
JM: Quite correct, well that might work for a while. But understanding systems gives us insight of the process and we can change the system at basic levels and make them more efficient systems and nvent new systems from preiously existing one. Its like inventing Radar by using the tehnology of Bat.

QM: OK that means in order to invent new systems we must understand the natural systems exiting around us.
JM: Yes


QM: We understand systems because we want to create new things-why do we want to create new things? Is it the same old saying -"Need is the mother of invention"?
JM: Need is not mother of invention, its curiosity. Need only nurtures it, feeds it and makes it popular.


QM: I dont get it?
JM: Edison didnt invent bulb, pressure cooker etc, because he needed it. He invented because he was just curious, wanted to test one of his theories which challenged him. So Curiosity is mother of invetion. But then people liked his invention because they were needed by people. So his invention became popular and invention grew into commercial products. So NEED nurtured the invention and made it big and great.

Discovery of UP-DOWN quartz inside a Massive particle accelarator is also a great discovery but not needed by people right now. But it is still a discovery given birth by Curiosity, NOT need.

Many great inventions did not grow up well due to lack of need.

QM: That sounds OK.
JM: Because it is OK. Curiosity gives birth to invention. Need Nurtures the invention.

4 comments:

nP said...

i don't agree to even a single point in this post. very superflous, more of a theory class that life with it's sheer practicality.

A couple of days back, i was too lousy & tired of performing a repetitive task in Shell. When i had had enough, i took a day's break from all pending stuff & made a hefty script to perform that time-consuming repetitive ugly task. A few tries. Cosmetic makeovers. & done. & then i continued with more important stuff.

Not that's not exactly invention (i know). But falls in the same genre.

Curiosity - Hell No !!
Sheer Necessity !!

Abhishek Seth said...

Insightful. I am convinced (atleast to some extent).

Shubhendu Bhardwaj said...

nP ... In your case I think NEED definitely provided a suitable environment for Invention, but jus think when u were trying to make the script each time werent you curious to see wat the result comes, wat I should do to make it work . Wanst it like a challenge .. may be only slighty.

When I say NEED is not mother, I dont mean to undermine the value of need in any way. Its just that MOTHER is wronge word for that. It may create a solid background for the invention and provide proper growth after that. But at the exact same moment when we find somthing new , we hardly think about need. All we know is we did what we wanted to do and proved our theory correct (implemented the idea, or something similar)- That jubiliant feeling at that moment is more of fulfillment of our personal accomplishment of some challenge rather than need fulfilment. Definitely NEED is fulfilled and we use it.

I can only HOPE i made my point. :)

dream weaver said...

well u threw light from a hither to different angle ,
think i dont understand wat is JM & QM