2009, the year of Ingenuity

It's January 1st - a time of both reflection and looking ahead. Given the current state of affairs in the worldwide economy and the constant threats of recession that promise bread lines or some hardship or another I'm reminded of that old maxim: necessity is the mother of invention.

I couldn't agree more.

I believe 2009 will be the year of ingenuity, where new ideas shift perspectives and create opportunities out of dire warnings. We have grown accustomed in Canadato the supremacy of creation, that faster, stronger, lighter is always better and having more is always better than making do. 2009 will elevate a couple of different adjectives to the forefront. While the things that have come to define consumption may remain guided by the slick and shiny, I believe a new prominence will be given to more pertinent items that are smarter or simpler.

An article I read the other day inspires this kind of optimism. Esther Addley, writing in the Guardian, chronicles the efforts of physics professor Josh Silver to develop eyeglasses that use syringes of water to set their prescription strength.

"Silver has devised a pair of glasses which rely on the principle that the fatter a lens the more powerful it becomes. Inside the device's tough plastic lenses are two clear circular sacs filled with fluid, each of which is connected to a small syringe attached to either arm of the spectacles.

The wearer adjusts a dial on the syringe to add or reduce amount of fluid in the membrane, thus changing the power of the lens. When the wearer is happy with the strength of each lens the membrane is sealed by twisting a small screw, and the syringes removed. The principle is so simple, the team has discovered, that with very little guidance people are perfectly capable of creating glasses to their own prescription."

Silver's design reminds me of a wonderful blog that highlights the intersection of necessity and invention throughout Africa. Afrigadget is full of personal stories of unsung entrepreneurs and hobbyists recycling local resources to better themselves and their communities. Many of the posts have an environmental message, whether overt or incidental, but all showcase efforts to find real and lasting solutions to common and daily problems. If the naysayers are right about the state of our economy we might just want to take a few notes.