I’ve always liked making gadgets and gizmos that have some function, useful or not so useful. It started with the simple things that many children do: a slingshot, a simple bow and arrow, a toy boat. I occasionally made more complicated items, like a canoe and a buggy. Then there was the thatched hut – 12 feet wide, octagonal in shape, and thatched from top to bottom with a thick layer of grass. I built it in a remote place, near a mine filled with water. He transported the mowed grass in a 1972 Volkswagen convertible with the top down. Pile the grass in the back seat. He must have taken a dozen round trips from a nearby hayfield.
Simple things appeal to me more than expensive household items. A small project allows me to pursue an interest without interfering with other goals. A project with a small amount of time invested seems more like entertainment. Time spent seriously creating something designed and made with one’s own ingenuity can be very enjoyable.
So now, when I don’t feel motivated to do more practical things, I often fall back on an idea about some device or other that I’ve wanted to try but never got around to doing. I can remember many of those makeshift devices that gave me satisfaction and enjoyment.
Ideas for making things come from many places. Most of the time the idea arises from some need. I do a lot of text typing using a computer keyboard. I tend to keep room temperature a bit cool, cool enough that my hands feel uncomfortable. I ended up mounting a piece of electrical heating tape rolled into a large coil to go around the keyboard. Tying the heat tape to a large piece of cardboard holds it in place. It does a good job of keeping my hands warm. I can leave the room temperature set wherever I want. As far as I know, you can’t buy any of that.
Building and inventing enhances my understanding of mechanical devices and materials. It becomes easier to manipulate and modify the physical things that are such an important part of everyday life. With effort and imagination, new devices can often be made or existing ones improved to my enjoyment and satisfaction.
Both intuition and logic are used to make a homemade gadget. The more the two abilities are used together, the more powerful the combination becomes. A strong association of reason and creativity helps a person to produce and enjoy life.
It’s fun and satisfying to conjure up and build simple devices. Those created items deserve more recognition than more casually acquired purchased items. And it feels good to prove that imagination and ingenuity can make life better.
The invention process seems magical. The mind puts together what has already given it some meaning into something new. It seems that even the darkest result can be produced over time. The grass hut and keyboard heater gave me a little taste of that magic.