This is a game I used to play with my kids. But it came to mind more recently when we have been looking into what Research and Development actually entails. Is anything truly an invention or simple a build on something that came before. Is any innovation completely new or novel? However you define the two terms it’s clear that anything, however simple or complex is constructed either by humans, or the natural world, through a series of small events or actions.
So whether it’s something complex or simple, like a laptop or a piece of paper, just pick one thing you can see right now. Could you craft it yourself, from scratch?
At first, I thought, sure – easy. A piece of paper? No problem. Just chop down some wood, shave some bits off, mix it with water, add glue, squash it flat, and voila, parchment! (Assuming that’s how paper is made. No Google or Wikipedia allowed.)
But wait, how are you chopping down the tree? With an axe or a saw? Where are you getting those? Are you going to mine some iron and smelt it? Okay, let’s say you use fallen branches and shave off bits with a sharp stone you found. Great. Now, where’s the bucket to mix it all up? Most are plastic, so I guess I’m not mining oil… maybe a ceramic bowl? Cool, let’s go dig up some clay and fire it in a kiln at 1,200°C. Easy, right?
Or maybe we’ll just use a conveniently shaped rock near some water – because moving water around without a bucket sounds exhausting. And don’t forget, you’re hungry and thirsty now. How are we getting food? Hunting? Better make a spear first. Or maybe we’ll just go foraging for berries (but which ones are safe to eat?).
You get the idea – it’s pretty tough! And then you realise just how reliant we are on even the simplest technologies – most of which are powered by electricity.
It’s a fun exercise to imagine, though.
Then I stumbled across _I, Pencil_ by Leonard E. Read, which beautifully describes the same concept through the life of a simple pencil:
_”Simple? Yet, not a single person on the face of this earth knows how to make me.”_
[Read the essay here](https://lnkd.in/eYmCWzyS).
Another modern-day example? [The Toaster Project](https://lnkd.in/eh2iWFGj) by Thomas Thwaites, where he tries to build a toaster from scratch (with some serious cheats, like using electricity and Wikipedia!).
[Watch his TED Talk](https://lnkd.in/e-TFQwyV).
Take a moment to appreciate the wonders of the everyday. They’re astounding when you stop and think about it. When was the last time you did that? We take so much for granted – I know I do.