While Surfing Kickstarter, I found This

5 Insider Tips from Idea Team Alex and Sorcha O'Connor

Alex O’Connor didn’t come up with his big idea at work or in his lazy chair. Instead the idea hit him while he was out doing what he loves – surfing.

- Sealblades are the world's first retractable hand paddles. -

Sealblades are the world’s first retractable hand paddles. They’re cooler in real life. –

Doing what you love can lead to a great idea, but getting that idea to market is a lot of work.

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Child Inventor Grows Up to Save Lives

From the Farm to the Hospital: The CT Scanner Story

A sneak peak into Godfrey Hounsfield’s childhood would reveal a boy diving from the top of a hay mound with his home-made glider or blasting projectiles into the air using waterjet propulsion. Godfrey loved growing up on the farm, and most of all he loved the machines.

voxel123_godfrey

Before there was such a thing as an “engineering department” at universities, Godfrey studied electrical engineering theory and practical applications at the respected Faraday House in London. A volunteer in the Royal Air Force, Godfrey Hounsfield carried his childhood interests into adulthood, becoming skilled in electronics, radar and guided weapons systems.

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Are You a Creator or Consumer?

2 Artists Whose Technical Smarts Wowed the World

Everyone has interests, but what do you do with yours? Maybe you love sports as long as you don’t have to work up a sweat. Perhaps you watch HGTV but have never handled a hammer or picked up a paintbrush.

- Robert Fulton's steamboat started with an artist's brush. -

– Robert Fulton’s steamboat started with an artist’s brush. –

Our society encourages us to consume – whether it be food, movies, apps or just “stuff.” I get it. It’s easy to consume, and it’s hard to create. But constant consumption without creation will leave us feeling empty.

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Don’t Let the Bright People Get All the Bright Ideas!

Edison Was 99% Failure and 1% Success

Edison’s path to success was called “trial and error.” Too often we assume that going through trials means we are doing something wrong, that error is failure, and that failure is final. Success is an achievement, the result of grueling effort. Olympians are not merely gifted humans, they are persistent, disciplined and talented. Edison attributed his brilliance to hard work.

- A bright idea. -

– A single bright idea looks so easy. –

We know that Edison said, “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” Many do not know, however, how terribly inefficient Edison’s “perspiration,” or hard work, was. Learn the five ways hard work and willingness to fail can lead to brilliant inspiration…

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Why Nikola Tesla is Alive and Well

How a Ridiculed Genius Built His Legacy

You’ve seen the cars – you know, those self-driving ones that evoke so much buzz. “Tesla” is quickly becoming a household name, but before the car bearing that moniker, there was the man.

- Tesla's demonstrations were electrifying -

– Tesla’s demonstrations were electrifying. –

Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) was a mad scientist, lone genius and one of the most consequential inventors of all time…

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What’s “The Brick Idea”?

The World's Biggest Ideas Built in Plastic

Invention fascinates us. Imagine Edison’s excitement when the very first light bulb lit up his dim laboratory. Picture Wilbur Wright standing on the beach at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, as he watched his brother experience humanity’s first powered flight.

- Edison in his Menlo Park lab. -

– Edison in his Menlo Park lab. –

Feel the frustration that drove Josephine Cochrane to craft the first dishwasher – and the thrill that it’s first users must have enjoyed!

They were Creatives. But they are not alone. . . (more…)