Is 'curiosity' the mother of invention...?

They say, 'necessity' is the mother of invention. It is certainly true. When some necessity arises, we look for a 'workable solution' to surmount the difficult moment. Fine, it may not be the best solution, but will work sufficiently enough to see through the 'difficult situation'. The most conspicuous recent example is the WFH model, (Work From Home), (although it cannot be called as 'invention') which was widely adapted the world over, to overcome the difficulties posed by COVID-19. Movement of people from one place to another was prohibited and restricted to a great extent. But, at the same time, we could not go on without working for a prolonged period. Though WFH model was in vogue earlier too, albeit in very few areas, it was put into use almost in all walks of life, be it education, business, ceremonies, entertainment..., and what not.

Of late, throughout the world, drinking water has become a 'rare commodity'. So, a lot of research is going on right now on various fronts. A few of the recent water purifying systems in which research is being carried out are - Desalination system, Nanotechnology water treatment, Solar water filtration, Toxins eating bacteria, Water from air etc. In my opinion, very soon, sea water desalination process might land up in an easily affordable (economically viable) solution. As sea water is available in abundance, this will augur well for the far-off future, for generations to come.

'Chance encounter' ("eureka moment") also plays an important role in various inventions. Percy Spencer while doing an experiment with radar, found 'by chance' that a magnetron was emitting heat generating microwaves and that led to the invention of "Microwave Oven'. Alexander Fleming discovered 'penicillin' by accident (chance). Edouard Benedictus accidentally dropped a glass flask containing cellulose nitrate (a liquid plastic) and the glass flask did not break into pieces. And that led to the discovery of "safety glass". One day when the Greek mathematician Archimedes stepped into his bathtub, he saw the water level rise, he cried loud and said "eureka" (I have found it). That led to the formula to find the volume of an irregular object. 

It was the 'curiosity' of Isaac Newton that led to the invention of "Laws of motion". When most of us would have eaten the apple that fell from the tree, Newton was curious to know the reason for the 'fall of the apple'. Thomas Alva Edison was curious as to how the then traditional ways of producing light (oil lamps and gas lamps) could be improved upon to give longer-lasting, more consistent and higher quality light and that 'curiosity' made him invent the 'electric bulb'. He was very curious in various other fields of science and that led to his numerous inventions. The Italian engineer (artist) Leonardo Da Vinci has to his credit many inventions, all being the result of his 'curiosity'. Some of them are helicopter, parachute, armored car, self-propelled cart etc... The German physicist Albert Einstein invented "Theory of relativity", "Avogadro's number", "Photoelectric effect", "Relation between mass and energy" etc. What made him invent so many - it is his abundant, non-satiable curiosity. The list of inventors who landed up on their inventions due to their well-directed curiosity is endless.

But there are some people who are curious to know the affairs of other people. They will poke their noses unnecessarily into others' affairs and try to cause trouble to them. That is how they use their 'curiosity'!!!