Principles and SCAMPER: Substitute

Why do I want to fit Principles into SCAMPER approaches? In a recent post (check it here first) I explore how SCAMPER can embrace the 40 Principles of Inventive Problem Solving. The goal is to wrap the complexity of the Principles in the approachability of SCAMPER. Substitute defined in Applied Imagination Under the category of…

Breaking In Jeans With Lasers

Better denim through chemistry Levi Strauss has announced that it will soon use lasers to give its jeans that lived in look that makes jeans look so good. Denim makers the world over currently use potassium permanganate to distress jeans. This acts like bleach but has a shorter effective life, making it easier to control.…

SpaceX, Starman, and Fuel Gauges

There’s a starman waiting in the sky SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon Heavy with the now-famous payload of Starman (a mannequin in a SpaceX-designed spacesuit) in Elon Musk’s personal Tesla Roadster. Test flights usually are sent up with payloads of negligible value like concrete or steel blocks, since there is the high likelihood of the…

Why Not a 4 Motor Tesla?

One motor per wheel The notion of having one motor per wheel in an electric vehicle like a Tesla has been mooted and debated. The consensus seems to be that the pros (electronic authority over torque vectoring – no mechanical bits required, eliminating the weight of a differential) are outweighed by the cons (additional cost…

Seeing Sound

In this TEDx talk, Michael Rubenstein, a research scientist, introduces the “motion microscope,” a video-processing tool that amplifies changes in motion and colour. This technique makes subtle motions visible such as the change of colour of a person’s skin as blood is pumped by the heart. Using a high speed camera, the technique can even…