Power Meal: Could Laziness Be The Mother of Today’s Inventions?
Did you know that May is National Inventors month? Inspired by the builders, creators, and innovative thinkers of Tech Square ATL (TSQATL) Social Club, we sent personal Power Meal (an hour to gather over food and have thoughtful conversations with other community members) invitations to a curated list of researchers and entrepreneurs in our community. Over a complimentary shared meal and libations, this timely and thought-provoking community conversation was appropriately centered around invention.
After exploring Chattahoochee Food Works (the newly opened food hall that is about 15 minutes from The Clubhouse,) we sat down with our ice-cold drinks and plates full of food at an open-air communal table to discuss the necessary elements of invention.
Here’s a glimpse of our conversation during the Invention’s Parent Power Meal.
IS NECESSITY REALLY THE MOTHER OF INVENTION?
In the Socratic text, Republic, the ancient Greek philosopher Plato once wrote: "[Our] real creator, as it appears, will be our needs." But how big of a necessity does an invention need to be in order to be considered “good,” or useful?
“If someone invented a cure for a rare disease that helps out just 50 people, [I think] that could be considered a ‘good’ invention,” opined Victor Pons, who is the Instructor of Percussion and Computer Applications in Music at Georgia State University.
But some would say that, lately, we’ve just been reinventing the wheel. “Most of the inventions we see now are not created out of necessity, but are created for luxury,” contended Michael Nguyen, CEO and Co-Founder of DataTorch. “ Lately, [it seems like] the less necessary the invention is, the better it does.” For instance, he purported that landing on the moon wasn’t necessarily deemed a “necessity,” though others may argue differently when it comes to space exploration.“ The base of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs has been mostly taken care of, so we now focus on the inventions that enrich our lives,” he remarked.
“Sure, but take the internet, for example,” commented TSQATL Social Club member, Cathleen Madrona, in reply to Michael’s remark. “It was originally made for scientists to communicate with each other, but it went on to help multiple industries.”
And so conversely, it seems that “Invention could now be the mother of necessity, which is the other way around [from the old adage],” added Shu Jiang, a Georgia Tech Graduate Research Assistant for the DARPA Subterranean Challenge. “The internet was invented for one thing, and then we found more necessities for it. [I think that nowadays,] laziness is the mother of invention.”
OBVIOUS NECESSITIES
Out of curiosity for seemingly missed opportunities for invention, Jared Serfozo, TSQATL’s very own Chief Technology Officer, asked: “When was the last time you saw something that made you think, ‘Why didn't I think of that?’”
After a long pause from the group, Michael discerned that it’s hard to point to anything as being “invented” now. Nate Damen, Robotics Engineer at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, agreed. “Things get remixed now, and not so much ‘invented,’” he concurred. After some thought and a few bites of food, the group agreed that Uber, credit card processing, and putting roller wheels on luggage were some obvious necessities that the table wished they had invented themselves.
SOCIAL DISCOURSE AS A PRIME CANDIDATE FOR INVENTION
When the group was asked about the need(s) they see today that solutions can be invented for, there was a consensus on society’s need for something to solve social anxiety and unproductive discourse. With social media shaping the political landscape today, Michael Pettinati, AI Researcher and Data Scientist at Biofourmis, mentioned that it would be helpful if we had “Something to help with online dialogue, to have more productive conversations.”
Political passions aside, everyone has more in common than we think. When it comes to social and economic mobility, “All these new inventions have allowed us all to switch careers so often, compared to previous generations,” Victor proposed. “We usually have a cross-over of skills to bond over [,no matter our differences.]”
As the evening came to a close, Nate mentioned that in regards to social media and privacy, “Technology can be a detriment to society and at the same time can advance civilization.” And with that juxtaposition, all agreed that this was an inevitable price our society has to pay as we move towards building a “better” world.
DID YOU KNOW?
Human innovation put a man on the moon (July 20, 1969) before putting wheels on luggage (patented in 1972).
Do you think that today’s inventions aren’t as novel as they were once before? What are some things you think were invented out of laziness (or, as some would say, for convenience)? Let us know in the comments below.