Paying Attention to Complaints
One very cool innovation that I learned about in the last year: soft-close drawers for your kitchen and bathroom.
You pull open each drawer, same as you would any normal one, but when you go to close it, you just push it shut as hard as you like. When it gets about one and a half inches from being completely closed, a little hydraulic cylinder slows it down and then gently closes the drawer the rest of the way.
If that explanation seems a little esoteric, here's an 11-second video clip you can watch to get a sense of the idea:
What makes this invention so interesting is that it solves a problem that you didn't even know existed until you see the solution. Most of us have little trouble closing an ordinary drawer, because we've been doing it our whole lives and it's a relatively simple operation. But somewhere, somebody noticed that closing drawers requires some effort. It's subtle, but with ordinary drawers, you do have to watch what you're doing when you're applying the pressure to close a drawer, and pull away at just the right instant when the drawer slides fully into the closed position. If you pull away too soon, the drawer isn't fully closed. Too late, and you might hurt your hand or wrist by putting extra strain on them pushing against an already closed drawer that won't budge. Even if you have drawers that coast smoothly closed, it's still possible to slam them if you just push once with too much pressure.
It actually solves all kinds of problems, of which you probably weren't aware. I certainly wasn't. Of course, once you see the solution, it makes perfect sense.
In the annals of bumper sticker philosophy, there is a phrase about politics that goes: "If you're not angry, then you're not paying attention." (I get the point, but I'm less than convinced that getting angry is going to help us sort out our political problems.) So, I'd like to put a spin on this dumb little maxim and say the following, which is intended to serve both as my own New Year's Resolution and inspiration for others:
If you're not innovating, then you're not paying attention.
The soft close drawers got me thinking about the doors on cars. Why don't auto manufacturers create a soft-close door for driver and passenger doors? Make it so you can gently nudge a car door closed, it catches six inches away from being fully closed, and then shuts itself. Could it be the end of getting fingers slammed into doors?
The auto companies haven't come up with this yet because none of their customers has ever recognized the problem, because there really isn't a problem with car doors. They are the way they've always been, so no amount of customer focus groups are going to give you this idea.
Here's a more original idea: I noticed yesterday that my girlfriend, while driving, was removing both of her hands from the steering wheel briefly in order to blow her nose. Is it possible to develop a tissue that makes it easier, or more comfortable, to blow your nose with just one hand?
Human beings seem to thrive on complaining, and a lot of complaints belie really good ideas. You just have to become adept at listening to complaints in this fashion, even if they come from yourself. People are often dismissive of their own frustration or anger, but getting in that habit is bad for the inventor in all of us, because good ideas, when they come up, don't punch you in the face. They whisper into your ear and, as quickly as they came, disappear.
You pull open each drawer, same as you would any normal one, but when you go to close it, you just push it shut as hard as you like. When it gets about one and a half inches from being completely closed, a little hydraulic cylinder slows it down and then gently closes the drawer the rest of the way.
If that explanation seems a little esoteric, here's an 11-second video clip you can watch to get a sense of the idea:
What makes this invention so interesting is that it solves a problem that you didn't even know existed until you see the solution. Most of us have little trouble closing an ordinary drawer, because we've been doing it our whole lives and it's a relatively simple operation. But somewhere, somebody noticed that closing drawers requires some effort. It's subtle, but with ordinary drawers, you do have to watch what you're doing when you're applying the pressure to close a drawer, and pull away at just the right instant when the drawer slides fully into the closed position. If you pull away too soon, the drawer isn't fully closed. Too late, and you might hurt your hand or wrist by putting extra strain on them pushing against an already closed drawer that won't budge. Even if you have drawers that coast smoothly closed, it's still possible to slam them if you just push once with too much pressure.
It actually solves all kinds of problems, of which you probably weren't aware. I certainly wasn't. Of course, once you see the solution, it makes perfect sense.
In the annals of bumper sticker philosophy, there is a phrase about politics that goes: "If you're not angry, then you're not paying attention." (I get the point, but I'm less than convinced that getting angry is going to help us sort out our political problems.) So, I'd like to put a spin on this dumb little maxim and say the following, which is intended to serve both as my own New Year's Resolution and inspiration for others:
If you're not innovating, then you're not paying attention.
The soft close drawers got me thinking about the doors on cars. Why don't auto manufacturers create a soft-close door for driver and passenger doors? Make it so you can gently nudge a car door closed, it catches six inches away from being fully closed, and then shuts itself. Could it be the end of getting fingers slammed into doors?
The auto companies haven't come up with this yet because none of their customers has ever recognized the problem, because there really isn't a problem with car doors. They are the way they've always been, so no amount of customer focus groups are going to give you this idea.
Here's a more original idea: I noticed yesterday that my girlfriend, while driving, was removing both of her hands from the steering wheel briefly in order to blow her nose. Is it possible to develop a tissue that makes it easier, or more comfortable, to blow your nose with just one hand?
Human beings seem to thrive on complaining, and a lot of complaints belie really good ideas. You just have to become adept at listening to complaints in this fashion, even if they come from yourself. People are often dismissive of their own frustration or anger, but getting in that habit is bad for the inventor in all of us, because good ideas, when they come up, don't punch you in the face. They whisper into your ear and, as quickly as they came, disappear.