Discounting the theological arguments, I think inventor is the most noble of professions, (pun not intended, but nice anyways) and I have aspired to that goal since I was little. My first success came when I was 7 and “invented” funnel that would filter the material, and the way I design the holes classified the material. Since then I have worked ceaselessly on achieving my goal, when I was 9 my parents took away my chemistry set after they figured out I read the instructions and since that stuff was “already done”, began “alternative research”. By 12, I was taking summer engineering camps and learning the principles of metallurgical, electronic, computer, mechanical, and structural engineering. I had my first lab job in 7th grade, when I was lab manager for the chemistry teacher at my school so I could again pursue independent research on how environment and solvent effected crystallization. I placed first in science fair from 8-11 grades with a chromatographic study of UV fluorescing flower pigments, and the implications that had for pollination, etc. However, I never got the grand prize because no one believed I actually did it alone, and I assume the “cheek” of a 15 year old discussing/arguing biological significance of the selection of anthocyanins and other pigment moieties in conjunction with the shape of the flower and location of the coloration on the flower with full professors from the local university, might have also contributed. (I still think I am right and that inflorescence is a selected trait and so flowers that attract and direct the pollinator to the pollen using UV pigments effectively have a selective advantage!) In High school I took Ag classes so I could learn what was before the computer age the central skill of the inventor’s craft: machine work. (I also got to learn animal husbandry, horticulture, construction and in 1994 I was 1st in the county and 5th in the State in Range and Pasture Management.) The nature of inventing has changed, inventors are no longer people in their garage with a lathe, and a dream, inventors are now called scientists and they have labs and budgets. However, not every inventor has forgotten this and the lab I joined has a machine shop!
The greatest axiom of the inventor’s craft to me is “You must push over the leading edge of the wave” This is a metaphor for supersonic flight, but it means: It is easy to invent things that you were unaware of but already exist, but to actually invent something new requires going beyond the state of the art into an area where no one else has gone. To do this is difficult since seeing the “wave” is difficult. However, as in all things I am non-traditional (I am not an iconoclast since that has negative connotations; I am a maverick or a pioneer ;) so you can skip this whole step. The easiest way to invent something is to repurpose/modify something that already exists, since if (please hold I have to invent something, ok got it (for maximum effect please stop reading for 45 seconds)) the computer industry invents a new video compression technology and you use it for self monitoring video security since any increase in the transfer rate signals an intrusion, you still invented something. (In case that already exists I have a system to set the threshold of detection at a certain object size and a way to prevent it from being defeat by moving very slowly too.) I have enjoyed a lot of my successes from this method of inventing, but the most powerful trick is to use your ignorance to your advantage. This works best in the oldest fields, since the established “thought” will often prevent people from thinking outside the “box”, but if you are unaware the box even exists, you are free to think. I enjoy these problems the most. My examples of this are the NP complete problems and the protein folding problem. These are problems that people try to solve with brute force, but in this case I cracked the NP completes in about 20 minutes, and the protein folding problem over lunch and I used finesse. Now I have to admit since the rules of these problems actually specify you must use brute force, I broke the rules, and therefore didn’t actually “solve” the problems but if I get the right answer who cares? By thinking how would Mother Nature solve this, most problems can be solved easily. Ma’ Nature abhors waste and brute force is waste, so biology is very efficient. (Anywhere you find biology being inefficient or wasteful is just an area that is not well understood…)
Now this is all well and good but I have spent 28 misspent years working towards essentially a single goal. How can some else get into this and still have had a life? Well there is the obvious, get into a field, pay your dues and when you are old and grey you might contribute. That is the easy one, the other options are much harder, but better suited to the born innovator. I would suggest start by finding a young field and diving right in, since you will bring something new to the party you have a way better chance to contribute and most importantly learn. Once you have had a taste, and you are sure this is your thing, look at where your field is going, then pick a place you think it should go and do it. This is less and more difficult that it sounds since your prior experience prepares you for this step, but now you are on your own with only the past and your wits as your guide. After that when you have some real inventions under your belt, and some credibility to your name, it is time for the big step. You know the one, that project you have been thinking about for years, that idea so revolutionary that even though you have planned it for years no one has even come close. Sadly I am not there yet, so I really can’t tell you how to do it, but paying your “dues” will pay off here. You might be thinking “well that sux I don’t want to pay my dues”, to which I reply tough! It took me a long time to accept this, but my solace is that by doing it the hard way I will be less old and grey when I contribute. ;)
It is a common myth that the inventor is an “island”. I have learned that, that is pure tripe; the inventor is more often than not only the creative force and an effective leader with a small army following him. Even more important is a small group of the people who comprise the inner circle. The inventor should look inwards and figure out where they are lacking and find a person or people to fill their weakness. Please read all the stuff I have written about marriage to better understand my theories on this. Why? Keep in mind they are called partners for a reason, and the parallels are not accidential. What is the point? The inventor is part of the team, so while you are paying your dues, build your team. Since these people will decide if you succeed or fail when you do that big project, so you can’t just hire them, they must have been with you through thick and thin. To me the most important positions to fill with loyal souls are a partner, a business/admin person, and at least two technicians, since that is the core of a company. Why do I think this? When it comes time they will have almost nothing to go on but your vision and a belief in you, so faith is critical to success, and having faithful people down the ranks will help keep moral high in those who don’t have faith. The comparisons to the military are apt if you think about it.
Enough preaching.
Sadly I can’t teach you to be creative since it seems to be inherent in some people, but you can dabble in this by simply taking an idea and going on the internet and following the idea out and out till you reach the end then follow the branch points back into their original concepts. I like to do this as training, pick a cool idea, then on Pubmed go back to first principles, then out in all directions till I figure out where no one else is gone. (It helps to read really fast.) Also, try inventing on demand, think of it like a game. (Right now I am trying to figure out if there is better way to package breakfast cereal to keep it from going stale, that is cheap and that even young children could use. I think the obvious accordion style package was done. The best I have come up with is a zipper top bag and a check valve on the package so it can be sealed and then smushed to vent the trapped air. I will work on it.) (Update, 30 minutes later! I cracked it, have the zip top bag, the valve, and use plastic that is stretched when the bag is filled, that way as the cereal is emptied the bag with contract slowly with the valve releasing the air, so that in long term storage the bag will reform to the size of the cereal.)
In regards to an old post I think you should also better understand why I don’t think I will ever win a Nobel besides the huge amount of politics since my best ideas, are BASF ideas. You remember the BASF commercials, “We don’t make anything, we make it better”, and I don’t think they give Nobel Prizes for that sort of thing. However, that kind of ingenuity is very necessary and doesn’t go unrewarded, at least I hope it doesn’t. Anyways if I want a Nobel Medal, I know foundry and casting methods so I can just make one. Although, I just looked at the medal to see if it would have to be wax cast and on examination I actually think that a Nickel scaled up to the same size would look better. ;)
I think that is enough for now, however if a potential employer should find this remember I am a team player, and a strong inventor with years of experience and years of dues paying left. I am also very adaptable so I can be inventive within the goals of the company and I work well if given a goal a budget and told to “do it” with in a time frame. So if you need anything from biomarkers for why your phase II drug failed (or biomarkers that show how to save the drug or make a new drug), to a new way market a product I am your guy! Even better I am willing to prove myself too, so send me your problem and an NDA, and give me a chance...
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