RAPID RECAP: THE MONOMATRIX

[This is an extension of an earlier post.]

How do we get ideas? Sometimes out of the blue! Often by looking at something that’s already there. Perhaps when someone suggests something.

But if you are alone, and wish to play at giving birth to ideas, have a go at The Monomatrix.

This works through combining the features of various noun and verb items.

For example, you could combine items to invent a product that holds up a book so that you can read whilst you eat! Or an alarm and camera built into your lunchbox in case a thief opens it!

In the example below, I have a mix of nouns (energy, funnel, sound, water, icecream, and bucket) and a verb (turning). The combination of funnel + icecream + turning gave us an Icecream Cone!

Similarly, with other combinations, we got the Waterwheel and Hydroelectric Power, and The Phonograph.

To use the monomatrix, place your finger on a word, slide to the right and down, or up; do the same with another word.

Where the two movements meet, place a mark in the diagonal-shaped checkbox.

For example, where ‘funnel’ and ‘sound’ have met in my example, I placed a blue dot . Where ‘water’ and ‘turning’ met, I planted a red square and so on.

You may make combinations with two or more items; it does not matter how many, as long as you come up with something useful. If you can then sell it, your invention becomes an innovation!

In the blank Monomatrix below, list your features (verbs and nouns) and play away!

The invention process is good for your creative brain. As you repeat the process, your problem solving abilities are likely to improve and enhance all areas of your life.

Identifying yourself as an inventor can make your resume or job application stand out from the crowd. Employers may see you as a problem solver and creative thinker - a desirable feature in most organizations.

Also, discussing your inventions during an interview can set you apart from other applicants being interviewed for the position. A great invention can be the start of a great business venture.

[Excerpted from the 'Thinkerbelles' edition of The InGenius Series of bookazines by Dilip Mukerjea. All the images in this post are the intellectual property of Dilip Mukerjea.]

FROM DILIP MUKERJEA'S ITINERANT TOOLBOX: THE MONO MATRIX

This is a single line type of matrix that will help you get multiple ideas. There are also double and triple array types (to be described in subsequent editions of this bookazine series).

In this design, we witness interbreeding where every item connects to, and combines with, every other item.

In the above matrix, we have listed some items that could be considered as subjects for generating creative thinking in an institution.

The idea is for us to force connections between any two or more items and come up with a combination that is worth pursuing. Of course, all the items in this circumstance could be considered laudable on their own, but the objective is to create combinations that may never have been considered otherwise.

In the above situation, I have depicted each outcome with a circle, pentagon, or square so as to differentiate between the three different options that have been suggested.

It is essential to bear in mind that nuggets emerge from what might look like dirt and debris; just think of how much ore needs to be mined in order to extract gold or diamonds.

Of course, the options in the above example could be replaced by those of your choosing. For example, you may wish to invent a device that has the following attributes as combinational options:

wheels, mirrors, aerodynamic, light, user-friendly, ‘green’, and inexpensive.

You may use combinations that are paired, using only two options, as shown above, or you may increase these mixes all the way to using all stated options within a single invention.

Note that when you get an idea, it is an independent entity that needs a form and function, born out of an initial purpose. When this idea becomes a product, it metamorphoses into an invention.

If you can sell this invention, it is transformed into an innovation. If you can’t sell it, then it remains an invention! Thus, every innovation is an invention, but not every invention advances towards becoming an innovation!

[Excerpted from the 'Igniting Innovation' edition of The Braindancer Series of bookazines by Dilip Mukerjea. All the images in this post are the intellectual property of Dilip Mukerjea.]