The Mother of Invention

The picture you see today is a result of my invention. That doesn’t mean that it is the only one in existence, just that I don’t remember ever seeing it before. Certainly, I never made one before.

As you know, necessity is the mother of invention. That, however, cannot be defined very easily. I learned that necessity could be defined in a pyramidal shape. Most of us are probably familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of need. At the wide bottom of the pyramid are what most of us think of as basic needs: food, shelter, warmth. As we go up the pyramid, we encounter needs such as moral and ethical, beauty, a more refined comfort, etc. We all go through the needs from the bottom to the top. Thus, unless we have adequate food and clothing, for instance, we are not interested in refined comfort or beauty.

The needs I was trying to satisfy by this project were all over the pyramid. A quick look at me will tell you that I’ve got food taken care of for now. Also, I’m warm enough and am lucky enough to have many friends for companionship. Still, I am getting paid for this project so food and shelter do come into it. More immediately, I was trying to provide support for a heavy table top which will be extended. It took me a day to design it to my satisfaction. In fact, I didn’t get the last idea until I awoke the morning of the second day. The alternative design I had for support was a pedestal. This idea looked better with more movement. Also, it mirrors the legs in another of my tables sitting in the same room. You can see, then, that my invention’s mother took a while to show herself.