According to Proverbs 8:12, wisdom finds out knowledge of witty inventions.
We have a lot to thank history’s inventors for. Every time you turn on a TV, drive a car, style your hair, iron your clothes, or do almost anything else throughout the course of your day, it’s likely because one of these famous inventors came up with something to help you do so. In fact, inventors are responsible for you reading this article on your phone, tablet, or computer right now. Without people creating technologies like the one you’re using, our world would be drastically different.
The world was without form. The world is shaped by witty inventions. Whether it is an idea of invention, or it is the invention of an idea, entrepreneurs are witty thinkers who use their special ability to envision possibilities to modernize society and transform the economy. Whether it is technical or social invention, the interventions of witty inventions have greatly shaped and transformed our world through problem-solving, innovation and value creation.
Witty inventions are products of creative ideas. Creative ideas can either come through inspiration or observation.
The world is framed by inspiration and observation. What wisdom is to inspiration is what knowledge is to observation. The former seems abstract while the latter seems tangible. Witty inventions are products of both inspired/intangible ‘dots’ and observed/tangible ‘dots’.
According to Steve Jobs, creativity is simply connecting the dots. Witty inventions are connected dots. The world is not framed by dots, the world is framed by connected dots. Inventors and innovators are dots connectors, they imagine possibilities and create products that benefit mankind and beautify our world.
Everyone can invent! Everyone can think creatively! Everyone is witty in their own right. That you can solve domestic problems for yourself and others is a witness to your wittiness.
“Witty inventors” are not just thought leaders, they are “dots thinkers”. They take the lead by thinking about possibilities and birthing them into reality through tireless pursuit of knowledge and wisdom.
There have been countless inventions that have saved lives and helped society. The seatbelt and the airbag are both examples of great inventions that have helped society. Inventions can be purely good and they can be entirely bad. An invention can be both good and bad depending on who is using it and for what they are using it.
Guns are a good example of the nature of “witty inventions.” There are all kinds of firearms that bring both the potential of help as well as the potential of harm. Guns can be used to protect innocent people and they can be used to murder innocent people. The internet is perhaps the best example of a “witty invention.” It can be used to share useful information with the right person and it can also be used to share terrible information with the wrong person. It can be used to connect people for good reasons (e.g. church live streaming) and it can be used to connect people for bad reasons (e.g. dating site scams).
We are all surrounded by somebody’s witty invention, we are all being blessed by the witty invention of the ‘combustion engine’ as we drive, by ‘electricity’ as we turn on the ‘TV’ which captures and transmits sounds and images in full colour, we are all blessed as we pick up our ‘smartphones’ and get to talk to loved ones across the ocean.
A witty inventor can invent something through scientific knowledge, much research, much study and many hours of trial and error, or it can come through divine inspiration or wisdom. Even though you may not possess the scientific knowledge of an Albert Einstein, a Benjamin Franklin, a Thomas Edison, or an Alexander Graham Bell, you definitely can tap into the power of inspiration and knowledge of witty inventions to create something that adds values to mankind.
Alexander Graham Bell is best known for being the primary inventor of the telephone. He founded Bell Telephone Company in 1877 and then went to work on other inventions, including flying machines. In addition to his inventions, Bell is known for establishing the scientific facilities Volta Laboratory, the American Association to Promote Teaching of Speech to the Deaf, and Science magazine.
Madam C.J. Walker, who was born Sarah Breedlove in 1867, invented a hair care treatment for Black women. She travelled around the country demonstrating the “Walker Method,” which involved a pomade that she formulated, a brushing technique, and heated combs. She was inspired to invent the revolutionary hair care treatment because of her own experience with a condition that caused hair loss.
Inventor Frederick Jones was a self-taught engineer, best known for his creation of portable refrigeration units. These units were essential during World War II, as they allowed trucks to transport food, blood, and medicine to army hospitals and soldiers on the frontlines. During his lifetime, he received over 60 patents related to refrigeration technologies, engines, sound equipment, and X-ray machines.
Dressmaker and inventor Sarah Boone is credited with the creation of the ironing board. Most dressmakers of the time were ironing their clothes on a wooden plank resting on two chairs, but Boone came up with the idea of creating a narrower, curved board with padding that could slip inside bulky dresses and could collapse for simple storage (in other words, the ironing boards we have today). When she received her patent in 1892, she became one of the first Black women in American history to be awarded one.
What are you waiting for?
What witty invention are you leaving for posterity?
Will it be useful or harmful?
Inspiration and observation rule the world!
Wisdom and knowledge shape the world!
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