The Root of Innovation
The Wright Brothers are accredited for inventing the airplane. However, Leonardo da Vinci had rendered paintings of the aerial marvel centuries before them. In fact, the modern-day airplane had hundreds of contributors from that point forward–over hundreds of years–and the vast majority of them are, and will forever be, anonymous. All of this isn’t to diminish what the Wright Brothers had done. They indeed sparked a flame that now shines at the pinnacle of human achievements and ingenuity. However, this is a call to examine the inventive process more thoroughly. Because, doing so will help us gain a better understanding of how the imagination communicates with reality, thereby making us more efficient dreamers.
The Inventive Process
It is often said that necessity is the mother of all invention. Yet it seems as though the originators of this statement were not concerned with universal accuracy or lawfulness. See, procreation sets the precedent for all manifestation, because there can be no invention without the inventor. What this ultimately means is that whether it is alive or inanimate, there MUST be a masculine, a feminine, and a supernatural component; a father, a mother, and a god. All in all, the imagination is the true mother of all invention, mankind is its true father, and necessity is the God of all invention.
Now, let us visit the more primal aspects of procreation in order to draw some parallels. A man becomes burdened by the finitude of his existence; he then enters into a woman to lay his thoughts to rest inside of her womb. Mankind becomes burdened by necessity; it then enters into the imagination to lay its thoughts and ideas to rest. Then, just as a woman becomes burdened with child, the imagination becomes burdened with an invention. Then, finally, both the child and the invention are brought forth through labor: childbirth, and work of the hands.
Necessity is the God of all invention because it is all seeing, all knowing, and indispensable. When man invented the wheel, necessity called for the chariot. When man invented the chariot, necessity called for the steam-engine. When man invented the steam engine, necessity called for the automobile—and so forth. From this, it is fair to deduce that all inventions, and the knowledge and understanding thereof–past, present, and future–reside in the realm of necessity. Necessity is, was, and will forever be the force that moves man toward whatever outcome it has most assuredly preordained.
Conclusion
Essentially, inventions are shining examples of how the imagination can alter reality. Yet, none of it would be possible without dreams, as they are what ties the imagination to reality like a bridge. Many people struggle to accept the life altering potential of their dreams, because they often appear fragmented and incoherent. However, fragmentation and incoherence are intrinsic to the imagination. It is its subtle cry for diligence and persistence. Remember, the airplane had hundreds of contributors over hundreds of years. Each, drawing, plan, prototype, and lesser-models were mere fragments of today’s models — and today’s models are mere fragments of any possible future models. If dreamers harken to the imagination’s call–through diligence and persistence–they will begin to birth paradigm shifting change into to their own realities.
