In 2010, Thomas Thwaites decided he wanted to build a toaster from scratch.
This post originally appeared onJamesClear.com.
Thwaites had assumed the toaster would be a relatively simple machine.
He decided to create the steel components first.
Surprisingly, they agreed.
The Toaster Project
The victory was short-lived.
It seems oil companies arent nearly as generous as iron mines.
Thwaites had to settle for collecting plastic scraps and melting them into the shape of his toaster case.
This is not as easy as it sounds.
The homemade toaster ended up looking more like a melted cake than a kitchen appliance.
This pattern continued for the entire span ofThe Toaster Project.
It was nearly impossible to move forward without the help of some previous process.
To create the nickel components, for example, he had to resort to melting old coins.
Dont Start From Scratch
Starting from scratch is usually a bad idea.
Too often, we assume innovative ideas and meaningful changes require a blank slate.
Consider an example from nature:
Some experts believe the feathers of birds evolved from reptilian scales.
Eventually, these small fluffs developed into larger feathers capable of flight.
The development of flying birds was a gradual process of iterating and expanding upon ideas that already worked.
The process of human flight followed a similar path.
We typically credit Orville and Wilbur Wright as the inventors of modern flight.
The most creative innovations are oftennew combinations of old ideas.
Innovative thinkers dont create, they connect.
We are mostly blind to the remarkable interconnectedness of things.
When you are dealing with a complex problem, it is usually better to build upon what already works.
Iterate, dont originate.
