I have seen many people mentioning that they have ran out of ideas, that all ideas have been used up. Is this true? I do not think it is. Many of us (especially people around my age) often forget how new the world of computing and the internet really is. So today I am going to give you a little history lesson.
The Wheel
This simple invention is thought to have been created in Ancient Mesopotamia during the 5th Millennium BC. That was a long time ago! Early wheels were just wooden disks with a hole for the axle. Even though they were created that long ago, it was not until circa 3500 BC that the Wheel was being used for travel. This large void in time is thought to have been because of there were no roads and that there were very few wheelwright’s skilled enough.
The wheel evolved during c. 2000 BC by using spokes which allowed for lighter and swifter transportation. The next change was by the Celtics who added an iron rim around the wheel. This design was used until the 1870′s CE when wire wheels and tires were invented.
Modern Technology
It would be an impossible task to summarise the last century in one post, so I would just like to link you to a very good website instead.
Timelines of Invention and Technology
Have you decided on the answer to the question yet? Personally, I believe that ideas and inventions will never stop being there… you just have to be able to see them. It seems that usually the only way to see these ideas are by developing new technologies. Remember the wheel could not be used until the roads were made? Well this proves that the ideas might already be there, but to use them to their full potential you need to remake them to use new technologies. The wheel took thousands of years to develop the technologies it needed, the modern technology is advancing more rapidly every year.
Hopefully this has inspired you to keep looking for the next thing to do, especially if you are starting to get a little depressed like I know many people are. Do not let yourself feel like this, keep improving yourself and that of those around you!
Thank you,
Shane
Good post Shane. It reminds me that back in the 19th Century they thought that the United States Patent Office should be closed because there was nothing new to invent!
There will always be new things or new variations on old things. Not always for good though! The atom bomb and the machine gun for instance!
@Roland – This is a very good point. There are always new things to be made, but some things should never have been made.
It reminds me of our school assembly today, the headmaster was telling us about how “pleasurable items” such as a: Doughnut, a hammer, beer, baseball bat and an umbrella were all made for good reasons without thinking about what it may lead to. Eg. Obesity, domestic violence, drunken violence, health issues, gang violence and verbal violence.
If Roland hadn’t pointed out the Patent Office anecdote I would have. There will be plenty new ideas and things “under the sun: until the day there is no sun.
The trick in these difficult times is to come up with really new and different thinking and I encourage you, Shane, Roland and any others who see this, to visit the New Thinking group at http://tinyurl.com/cp55el. The more input we get from as diverse a group as possible, the better for all.
@Bill Matthies – To be honest… until Roland said about it I had never heard that there was ever any talk about the Patent Office closing down!
Usually I edit out links like that, but I have looked on it and believe that if that group is successful and able to carry on then it is potentially a very useful group!
@Bill Matthies – But by the time there’s no sun for us to exist under we should have already moved to new territory with a new sun
When you are in those moments where you can’t seem to find something new, visit some websites, listen to some music, read some books, talk to some people. They will re-energize you and ideas will flow.