When we talk of inventions which have either touched or changed our lives, we often praise the inventor for “thinking out of the boxes.” How do these people think on the new invention help idea by thinking out of the box? Is it possible for you and me to do it too? To know this we have to exactly what the “box” is with the intention that we can think beyond it. The “box” is the way things are, and just how to get a patent for an idea we have been tutored to view things. There’s lots of factors which determine means we look at things. Thus the first step to start thinking beyond the normal is to identify and challenge our own views and perceptions.
The entire process of challenging preconceived notions, established norms and usual assumptions is a very powerful and creative way to resolve a problem, because walking on the much-treaded patch is safe, though boring. For instance, when you think of a domestic air-conditioner, consider some of the assumptions? Cooling, auto switch off, silent, it always be run on electricity, etc. What if someone thought of methods to manufacture an air-conditioner which ran on something else which is more organic and saved on power consumption? Another way to come up with a new invention idea is to think the best absurd. One needs a extremely open mind for this as the process can both be fun and also irritating. There could be hundreds of completely absurd solutions to a problem, but one of them could be a genuinely new invention idea. Start with a “what if” question and you will be blown away at the number of absurd answers you could arrive at.
There is a literal way of thinking as they are and that is to leave your home or office and watch the way people live, behave and communicate. The story of the shoe salesman comes to mind. This man went to Africa to sell shoes, a country where people never wore all of them. By thinking out of the box, he thought about the idea of selling his first pair a few curious buyer by highlighting its heat resisting abilities and ensuing comfort to his feet. The shoe salesman soon opened shop and became a uniform. There are many stories like this and as the saying goes, you can actually sell a refrigerator with regard to patent an invention Eskimo, provided you can invent some way to convince him of its utility.
Concepts like division, subtraction, temperature control, colorful all trigger great invention ideas; make a large table foldable help to make it more space for utility purposes; deter two legs from another to enable faster cleaning; add color to domestic utility items help to make them inter-changeable; ideas like these will flow once believe deeper and harder at the common daily objects and ideas for new inventions will be a knock away!