Context and the origin of ideas

A few years ago, I thought i’d had my Dragon’s Den moment. I would dazzle the sceptical venture capitalists, save lives and win acclaim. You see, in places with high populations of moose, or elk as we call them in Europe, places such as Newfoundland and Sweden, people die every year in collisions with these tall, lanky animals. When a car strikes one, the elk doesn’t go underneath- it comes through the windscreen, sometimes with fatal consequences for the driver as well. So, my idea was to fit external airbags so that when a strike occurred, the bag would deploy and deflect the animal away from the car. Genius, I thought…until I went to check if anyone else had thought of this…and found that Volvo had, with bags designed to reduce injuries to pedestrians. There went my fortune. Yet this is just one example of the parallel genesis of ideas, And I think I might know what’s going on.

Context and the origin of ideas Niall Benvie

Volvo’s external airbags. Grrrr.

Vincent and Michel Munier’s Au Fil des Songes

Wild Wonders of Europe

Meet Your Neighbours

The Jumping Squirrel cliché

The Diving Kingfisher cliché

Laurie Campbell