Rubber Band Creativity

Change the world

Do you think you are creative? Maybe even an inventor. You have great ideas, some even revolutionary. Or maybe that flash of creativity is yet to happen. The 'aha' moment has not arrived. If you have been dabbling in creativity here is a challenge for you - create something of value or of commercial use using rubber bands. Yes the lowly rubber band usually found in desk drawers.

Wall Street Journal columnist Lee Gomes wrote an intriguing article on what is a global event - brainstorming bees. His lessons learned from one such event at Stanford University are interesting and worth reflecting upon.

"If an idea comes to you quickly, for example, the odds are that it came quickly to others, too, and thus isn't likely to win, or even place, in the Miss Originality contest."

Possibly true but not reason enough to discard what may be the idea. A simple web search will validate the presence of competing solutions. Confirm before you discard but confirm soon and then move on if the idea has already been realized.

"The other insight one has by judging an innovation contest is that if you think of an obviously good idea, but no one has implemented it in the real world, there is probably a reason."

There is an idea and then there is reality. Although every idea may not be worth pursuing but some ideas need to be vetted to confirm their feasibility. Pursue your ideas but be realistic about what is possible, feasible and viable.

Finally what makes a difference is - "Basic technology much of the world needs"

In other words mass appeal and usage will win. Win by solving obvious problems that use basic technology that possibly will affect many and will eventually change the world.

So what can you create out of a tangled bunch of rubber bands? See what the entrants came up with at YouTube.

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