On Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:28:33 -0400, "Tom Gardner"
wrote:

I'm seeing previews for the movie about the invention of intermittent wipers
in '63. Think how things have changed in 45 years. Today, a manager at a
design firm would tell a group of engineers to design such a system and have
several designs on his desk by the end of the day. True, they didn't have
555s in '63. So, is it that a unique idea is a lot more important than the
actual design?

If you remember some of my previous posts about nurturing ideas that lead to
designs, this has been an area of extreme interest to me. In the movie, it
looks like Ford screws the idea/design guy, which makes me sick. Designers
and model builders need more respect but idea guys need to be revered!

It doesn't work that way. Ya give 'em books, they eat the covers.
Been there, done that, had a lot of fun along the way. Won a buncha
patents though I don't own any nor care to. Idea guys find their own
happiness. A need to be revered is a sure route to frustration.