“What makes a great idea great?”(page# author). Throughout Steven J. Paley’s novel The Art of Invention, Paley answers this question and many more as he vividly illustrates how great inventions contain three essential characteristics: simplicity, elegance and robustness. This book, written for the aspiring inventor, describes how inventing is a creative act, and offers detailed guidance on how to refine your own creativity and vision. Paley uses his experiences as well as real-world examples to portray that inventing is a mindset; it is a way of looking at the world from a different perspective. Paley shows that ideas can come from a plethora of sources. Inspiration can come from the natural world, physical principles, life experiences and
…show more content…
Paley stresses that a commonality between inventors is that they are always on the lookout, even if they do not know exactly what they are looking for. [While Paley delves into a variety of topics throughout the novel, he frequently emphasizes one of his core points: the goal for any design is to be simple, elegant and robust. ] The core of Paley’s work arguers that the goal for any design is to be simple, elegant and robust. As much of our world today continues to become more complex, a great deal of emphasis is placed on simplicity. Paley explains that in invention and design, simplicity is getting to the essence of the problem that you are trying to solve. Although not every problem and solution is simple, if your problem is stated in a clear and straightforward way, then your solution should follow as such. It is important to remember that …show more content…
Robustness is described as the ability of an invention to function under adverse conditions. A robust device is designed to function despite any problems that may occur, even if failure is inevitable. For example, houses that are built to withstand typhoons and floods, especially in Asia and the Pacific where these types of disasters are most common, are examples of robust inventions. There are several different ways that a product can be made robust, one of which includes strength. The most obvious way to make an invention robust is to make it very strong and at times very flexible, so it can tolerate worse complications than it is expected to encounter. Another aspect of robustness is redundancy, which is the inclusion of backup systems. Therefore, if one fails another system will take over. This can be essential, especially when it comes to valuable data that is stored on a computer. As previously mentioned, when you have robustness you often have simplicity as well. The simpler that an invention is, the fewer problems that can occur and therefore the more reliable and robust the product is. This can be achieved by either reducing the amount of moving parts or by reducing the amount of structural elements. If a system has self-healing properties, it has also achieved robustness as it can repair itself if it becomes damaged. If failure is inevitable, an invention can still be made robust by being designed to deal
Paley stresses that a commonality between inventors is that they are always on the lookout, even if they do not know exactly what they are looking for. [While Paley delves into a variety of topics throughout the novel, he frequently emphasizes one of his core points: the goal for any design is to be simple, elegant and robust. ] The core of Paley’s work arguers that the goal for any design is to be simple, elegant and robust. As much of our world today continues to become more complex, a great deal of emphasis is placed on simplicity. Paley explains that in invention and design, simplicity is getting to the essence of the problem that you are trying to solve. Although not every problem and solution is simple, if your problem is stated in a clear and straightforward way, then your solution should follow as such. It is important to remember that …show more content…
Robustness is described as the ability of an invention to function under adverse conditions. A robust device is designed to function despite any problems that may occur, even if failure is inevitable. For example, houses that are built to withstand typhoons and floods, especially in Asia and the Pacific where these types of disasters are most common, are examples of robust inventions. There are several different ways that a product can be made robust, one of which includes strength. The most obvious way to make an invention robust is to make it very strong and at times very flexible, so it can tolerate worse complications than it is expected to encounter. Another aspect of robustness is redundancy, which is the inclusion of backup systems. Therefore, if one fails another system will take over. This can be essential, especially when it comes to valuable data that is stored on a computer. As previously mentioned, when you have robustness you often have simplicity as well. The simpler that an invention is, the fewer problems that can occur and therefore the more reliable and robust the product is. This can be achieved by either reducing the amount of moving parts or by reducing the amount of structural elements. If a system has self-healing properties, it has also achieved robustness as it can repair itself if it becomes damaged. If failure is inevitable, an invention can still be made robust by being designed to deal