Evolution vs Revolution

Henry Petroski gets it. His 1992 book, The Evolution of Useful Things identifies anonymous products that came to be as well-executed as they are, not because of the 'design process', but because they were invented by someone who saw a need, and later corrected by those who found flaws. Designers profess to do this, but in deed, often just take a well-evolved product and add a patentable feature, which they can then label as a 'revolution'. The best-evolved products are minimalist by nature, and beautiful in the stark manner they demonstrate their usefulness.

That Guy Named Dave

Someone's got the right idea, and inspiring followers. No, I'm not talking about We, the proud few of Useful, I'm talking about Dave!
This guy challenged himself to weed out his possessions to only 100 of the most useful items, and to see if he can stick to it for a year. Brilliant.

So Darn Useful!

It can clear land, harvest crops, split coconuts, chop wood, drive nails, and endure all the misuse we regularly put screwdrivers through. It is commonly used in homebuilding. Farmers and hunter-gatherers use them to kill and skin animals, dress out the meat and scrape and trim the pelts.
We Westerners all know what a machete is, having seen them in movies, and a few of us have used them in the woods or even in a jungle. But to many people of the world, a machete is the most useful device in their lives - in some instances it may be the only factory-made item they possess - the one thing you can be sure every man in the village owns. Which is why civil wars in poor nations involve extensive machete use; everyone already has one. It is a formidable weapon in even unskilled hands, they cost a fraction of a gun to replace, and don't need ammo. The machete is also possibly the most common device of self-defense found in the world.

Other ubiquitous inventions have been compared to the machete: the VW Beetle, the AK-47, the cell phone. Kevin Kelly once called the the 4-cylinder Toyota truck the 'new machete', as it's utility and reliability had led to its extensive presence in most of the world.

So what common inventions do you consider very useful, in your (or another) society?

The Story Of (too much) Stuff

Instead of a blog entry that takes twenty minutes to read, here's a twenty-minute video with a surprisingly simple explanation of the predicament that Useful wants to address. Enjoy!

What use is Useful?

Why am I doing this?

To open up a dialogue about why we have so much designed stuff overflowing from shelves in giant retail stores, when it's pretty obvious we humans don't need that much to be healthy and happy.

To implement a system that rewards designers, manufacturers and marketers who answer the call to reduce consumption, and give us what we need, rather than inventing needs that didn't exist before.

To empower those individuals with the moxie to buck the product development paradigm, and stand up to the status quo system that makes nearly all designers and marketers serve the needs of the bottom line instead of their fellow citizens.

To actually start a new design initiative: the Useful Movement.
I will be soliciting collaborators on a manifesto. Stay tuned.

What we need, and what we think we need.

I have a friend who believes strongly in reducing energy use wherever it's not needed. One time at breakfast, I asked him if he was having coffee, and he politely replied, "Hot drinks. Who really needs them?". After my initial surprise, the logic sank in. I then offered his view on Treehugger in a comment thread about the impact of a cup of tea. I quickly got one response that framed my concept behind this blog: "That's pretty extreme. I think he's compromising quality of life." Hmmmm. What about a hot cup of tea improves your quality of life? Beyond arguments of whether or not the nutrients in hot tea improve your diet, or the warmth of the drink or cup itself improves your mental health, is a hot drink NEEDED? Animals, and many human cultures do not require hot drinks for their health or wellbeing. So why would we?

Thus begins the discussion of what we really need in our lives. Do we fill our lives with things we need, or Needful Things? Do we need lots of gadgets, gear and activities or do we just need Quality of Life? How do you currently define that? So right from the start, it's going to be harder than simply saying, "From now on, we're going to only invent the things we really need", because we don't even know what that is. We all have to question the lifetime of social conditioning we've adopted, that tells us what we think we need.

More importantly, considering our footprint (or shoe size, as I like to call it) compared to most other human societies, how do we show the world that we are smart enough to figure out how much or how little we humans need to be happy and healthy? Or are we that smart?