Human Inventionsby Benjamin Aarholt

What is an invention?

An invention is something that is developed by a person, or a group. 

We often invent because it is needed or we want to make life easier, or earn money. 

Pens, books and light make our life easier, but things such as candy makes life more fun. 

Inventions can improve the world, or make it worse. The Atomic bomb made our planet worse, while the light bulb improved it.

Innovation and Discovery

To innovate, is to find better solutions and improvements. For example: Long after the light was invented, other inventors improved the light bulb and made the material inside it last longer.

The difference between invention and innovation is that innovations just are improvements while an invention is something new.

A discovery, is something that already exists in nature, but it's called a discovery when it is discovered. It can for example be math, physical laws, a new planet or electricity. 

Is it good to be curious when inventing?

Many inventors get their ideas from curiosity. They wonder about how things work, and they are eager to test out new ideas they have. They are also often frustrated about existing inventions, and sometimes they get ideas for how to improve these.

For companies in our present time, it is more and more important to innovate and invent new stuff. But the problem is that the employees are not curious enough. One reason might be that much technology today is so advanced that normal people can’t understand it even if they tear it apart.

Is it possible to invent without trying?

Yes, it's called accidental invention. An accidental invention is an invention that wasn't meant to be invented. 

There are different ways that accidental inventions happen. It often starts when inventors try to invent something that does not work.

Then later realises that it can be used as a different invention.

For example, there was a company that made a product that was used to clean dirty wall paper. Soon the company started to go bankrupt. But luckily, school children started to play and make stuff out of the cleaning dough. When the company realised this, they modified the product slightly and sold it as “Play-doh”. It was a huge success.

In this case human expression played an important role, since the children used the material to play with to express themselves.

Other times, other people start to use a product in a new surprising way ... and the inventor can learn from it and modify the invention.

Slinky (a toy), started with a man called Richard James. In 1943 he created something to make the things inside a boat steady when the boat was shaking. When he knocked the metal spiral over, instead of crashing, it gracefully sprang downward, and then righted itself. He understood this would be a great toy. The Slinky soon became a popular toy for children.

Then there was a guy called Harry Coover who invented the superglue by accident as well.

He tried to make a precision gun sight, but the material was just sticking everywhere. 6 years later he ended up trying to use the same sticky material for another project. He then finally realised it could be used as glue.

Inventions Inspired by NatureThere are many great inventions we are using today which was inspired by nature and animals.

One example is the bird. Inventors studied the flight of birds with interest to fly like them up in the sky and travel long distances over countries, mountains, oceans and such things.

There was an inventor in 1856 who got inspired by a sea bird. He design a glider. Later, there were two brothers that designed the first air plane ever made.

Another example is Velcro. I 1948, George de Mestral observed that the burrs of burdock was stuck to his dress and dog. When he looked closely at it, he discovered that it was thousands of tiny hooks. He then invented the Velcro which is two strips of fabrics that will stick together. One with thousands of hooks and the other with thousands of loops.

How does inventions make life better?

The lightbulb made it easier to work and study longer when it was dark.

With the telephone we could talk with other people far away.

The nail made it faster and better to build with wood.

The invention of the washing machine gave women back a large amount of time to do other things. Free from using half day to wash clothes, and instead using the washing machine, many women got jobs and the status of women began to change. This way women probably got a chance to follow their interests.

Inventions make life better because they make life easier and we can do more things than we could before.

The Importance of InventionsInventions are very important because it improve life and make life better.

One very important invention was light. It made it much easier to work and do things when it was dark. Electricity was also a very strong invention. With electricity, people could call each other, and many other things they couldn't do before. Cars destroys the nature but it helps people to move faster.

If we didn’t have these inventions, we couldn’t study or work when it got dark. And people needed to walk very long distances to talk with others because they couldn't call each other. And it would have been very difficult to travel, although if you were rich it would be a bit easier because you could travel with horses. This could have affected human expression, because it would be more difficult to meet people, and find others with the same interest as you.

The most dangerous invention ever made is the Atomic bomb. The Atomic bomb has only been used in war, and it can destroy a whole city at the time.

The man who invented the atomic bomb was Robert Oppenheimer. He was leading the Manhattan Project, the program that developed the first nuclear weapon during World War II.

Today as many as 13890 atomic bombs exists around the world. That’s enough to destroy the whole planet.

What is the most dangerous invention?

We will be in trouble if we let that happen. However, one thing is to be smart, and another is to be intelligent. Computers will follow logic that has been programmed by humans. But not context or intuition or what makes sense.

My thought is if computers get so smart that they can write a better version of itself, the new version will write another version again, and computers will maybe be so smart that they want to take control over humans.

What happens if computers get smarter than humans?

Inventors killed by their own inventions There have been several inventors who got

themselves killed by their own inventions. Some of them sounds a bit crazy and lame.

Franz Reichelt, a tailor, jumped from the Eiffel Tower in 1912 when testing his parachute, but it never opened.

Wan Hu from the Ming dynasty wanted to fly to the moon. He attached rockets to his chair, and when he took off, both the chair and Wan Hu disappeared. Now there is crater on the backside of the moon that carries his name.

One of the reasons we invent, is that we constantly want to express ourselves in new and more advanced ways.

Inventions occur because we express ourselves, and we also express ourselves with the help inventions.

I have talked with a few persons – a composer, an artist, two bakers, a game designer and a guy dealing with inventions.

Next next slides show what they have to say.

By making music, I believe you mean creating music, either by improvisation (making it up spontaneously) or composition written for others to play.

Musicians, often working within well established stylistic frameworks, manipulate sound to express themselves and communicate to their performers and their audiences.

They work with the musical parameters of rhythm, melody, harmony, color, texture and form.

How do you express yourself by making music? Charles Sepos“ What inventions do you

depend on when creating music?

The modern piano. Piano has always been my main instrument. I love a fine concert grand because no compromises have been made in their design and construction, and, as a result, a great range of expression is possible.

As a composer, I use a piano-action 88-note electronic keyboard (Yamaha Electronic Piano P-90) connected via MIDI to my iMac computer using Finale Notation software.

Sometimes I get new ideas to make new artwork by going to exhibitions, or look in one of my art books, to study other artists works. It can be the combination of colours in a painting, or some details in a painting or a sculpture that give me an idea to create something new.

Elisabeth von Krogh

Where do you get your inspiration from?

“I feel engaged and concentrated when I work in my workshop. During 47 years with working with clay, I have developed a personal style, that I know, and have experienced many times, that people that are interested in art and design, recognize and can see that this is made of Elisabeth von Krogh. Working with clay has become a big part of my identity.

 I am very interested in my work. I am satisfied if I have managed to make a piece that do not look like any other artists work. I feel a bit like I have invented a new piece of art : Nobody else have made this form before, this is the only work made out of clay that looks just like mine.

How can you express yourself by making sculptures out of clay?

How do you feel about creating art?

I think my baking reflects my own tastes and preferences which is self-expression in a way.

There is also some design when it comes to cakes, pies, and pastries so that allows me to express myself too. 

Ms. Donohoe 

Baking gives me a chance to express my creativity with flavour combinations and what it looks like. 

It also allows me to express my caring for others.  Often times I bake for friends and family to celebrate special occasions.

Ms. Kaitlin

I asked to two ISNS teachers who are experienced bakers, how they express themselves through creating pastry.

“

I think that baking sometimes can lead to inventions.

We do both! Invention is rarely a brand-new idea out of nowhere, and is much more commonly an advancement of an idea that people have improved on for a while.

We create any time we make something; it just might not be a brand-new creation. What we do with game design is usually called iterating, where we take the best parts of games we love, and make them a bit better and include them in new games.

Do we create or invent games?

Play is extremely important to being human. It shapes our identity, allows us to try things and push our limits without danger, and to socialize. Good game design does all of this!

Modern games include ways we can express ourselves too, such as custom outfits or homes.

How does game design connect to the theme: Human expression? 

“Paul Kwiatkowski

I feel that inventions are the most important thing in the world. Countries where people create new inventions are usually much richer and the people have a higher standard of living. Inventions help people become more productive, healthier, and happier.  

Inventions impact all areas of life. Inventions make athletes stronger, give artists tools to make better art, and help teachers teach students more effectively. Inventions effectively help people do whatever they like doing more effectively. Inventions are essential for progress in any aspect of human life.   

Most people who invent things are probably very passionate about the things they invent. For example, someone who loves dogs might want to invent something to make dogs' lives happier. that is probably the primary motivation. Other people probably like to process of creating new things. Finally, creating good inventions is a good way to get rich.  

“

How do you feel for inventions?

Why do people invent? 

What is the connection between human inventions and how we express ourselves?

David St. Germain

I think…

We have to use the inventions for good things and if we are not curious and just think about money, the invention we make often won't be successful.

Also, if it's possible, we should try making an invention that stops the global warming.

Works Cited

Bennett, Derek, “Where do the most intelligent inventors come up with their ideas?”, 2018, www.quora.com/Where-do-the-most-intelligent-inventors-come-up-with-their-ideas 

Holodny, Elena , “16 inventors who were killed by their own inventions”, 2015, www.businessinsider.com/inventors-killed-by-their-own-inventions-2015-12

Wolchover, Natalie , “Top 10 Inventions That Changed the World”, 2016, www.livescience.com/33749-top-10-inventions-changed-world.html

Biddle, Sam , “The 10 gratest (accidental) inventions of all time”, 2012, www.nbcnews.com/id/38870091/ns/technology_and_science-innovation/t/greatest-accidental-inventions-all-time/

Cameron, Steffani, “The Importance of Inventions”, 2019, bizfluent.com/facts-5708734-importance-inventions.html

Daemmrich, Arthur , “Curiosity and Invention”, 2015, invention.si.edu/curiosity-and-invention

Sandra, “How The Washing Machine Changed Our World”, helpwiththewashing.co.uk/blog/washing-machine-changed-our-world/

Quora, “What happens when our computers get smarter than we are?”, www.quora.com/What-happens-when-our-computers-get-smarter-than-we-are

Wikipedia, “Innovation”, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innovation