People have all kinds of ideas about how to stimulate creativity — from writing with the hand you don’t normally use to visiting a place you’ve never been.
I’ve always found that enjoying the creativity of others provides a spark.
One of the most creative individuals in the last century was Reuben Lucius Goldberg (most people know him better as “Rube”). Rube was born in San Francisco on the Fourth of July in 1883 and earned a degree in engineering from Berkeley.
He worked as an engineer for the City of San Francisco Water and Sewers Department, switched to newspaper work, began drawing cartoons, persevered until he was published, and went on to syndication and a Pulitzer Prize.
Rube used his knowledge of pipes, bolts, and gears from his engineering years and his delightful sense of humor to create “inventions” that made performing the simplest task — from filling a glass to opening a screen door, to getting the cotton out of a medicine bottle — insanely complex.
He became an icon.
Even though Rube didn’t build his machines, he has inspired creativity in engineers, scientists and regular folks around the world.
Rube never published a credo, but if he had, it might read something like this:
- Use ordinary objects in innovative ways.
- Make something new out of existing parts.
- There are a range of solutions for every problem.
- Figuring out how to make something work can be lots of fun.
- Don’t ever take technology or yourself too seriously.
Every year, there is a Rube Goldberg Machine Contest. The 2012 Machine Contest is to create a “Rube Goldberg” to inflate a balloon and pop it. Sounds like fun!