Innovation!

The buzz word

showing up on the covers of many magazines

and college and universities news

informs us that

we are living in a time

where

innovation

will take us

and keep us

ahead

in new products,

ways of thinking,

empowering us

to live

life fully and keep us

ahead

of the rest of the world.

Winners

we must be.

Topics

include, energy, robotics, medicine, health care,

education,how to teach and what to teach.

New products

usually include

electronics

and electronic ways

of communicating

monitoring,

running machines,

managing our lives

from our smart phones.

Spending many hours

at the

Genius Bar

at my local Apple Store,

my helper’s back pocket revealed

another brand,

simpler

cell phone.

With plenty of

time to talk

while he troubleshooted

my computer for a

repeat problem,

he told me that

he had started as

a car mechanic.

When cars and their motors and functions

became increasingly electronic,

his experience was outdated.

Furthermore,

he said

all machines are made

too complicated

with more options

than we can ever need.

In his home

he only bought

appliances

small and large

from the 1950’s and 1960’s.

Easy for him to use,

didn’t often break,

and repaired

much more easily

than

the dishwashers,

washing machines,

ovens,

and food processors

with a myriad of options.

Most he found

on EBAY

and parts too!

Innovation

could be more effective,

our land fills less full

if innovation includes

simplification

for the main uses of

whatever function

the innovation is

intended to contribute.