Inventing Things

I like to design things or, short of that, conceptualise. My latest concept was journal published early this week. There are assumptions people often make about inventions: a) that the obvious concepts have already been thought of, b) that there aren't any simple ones left, and c) that the best way to do it will be cutting edge. My last three designs -- audio, chemical, and mechanical -- are all very simple, and nobody thought of them before:

• Recording string instruments in two dimensions instead of one
• A chemical product (still under wraps) with two ingredients
• A mechanical buckle (and variations), easier to use than existing items

OBSERVATION: One area in particular where I have seen the cutting edge assumption is in security, which tends towards high tech solutions where these are really not needed -- in fact, where simplicity would sometimes work better. That also means that some cutting edge inventions could have been done long ago -- if people had conceived of them then. Say, for example, motion control.