Friday, May 21, 2021

More dumb ideas...

 Something on the subject of EVs, a plethora of unsolicited advice, and in the “zero-trust architecture” department...

Speaking of advice, this one really caught my attention;

"A multitude of bad ideas is necessary for one good idea."

As it happens, just yesterday I was wondering what was wrong with the current state of boat design and that pithy sentence pretty much encapsulates the problem as I see it.

Not enough bad ideas.

Or, to be more accurate, no one is really thinking about solving problems by coming up with new solutions to the current needs and issues of sailors. Most designers are just applying the current acceptable answers to the existing problems that need fixing because trying something new and getting it wrong is embarrassing and no one likes putting themselves in a situation where they will be ridiculed.

Sure, I get that.

Still, I find myself searching for those designs that are outside the box, different, and reek of the potential for failure. I don't want to see just another dinghy or cruising boat design I want to see designs that are just over the cutting edge of what's possible and inspired by the need to get it right rather than playing it safe.

Not all that long ago a designer of boats that I admire asked me why I had lost interest in a design I'd talked to him about. My answer was simply that while I liked the design in question I never felt that the designer was enthused or excited about his design and how could I build a boat that the designer wasn't really enthusiastic about?

Yeah, what we really need is more dumb ideas and some passion to back them up.

Listening to some Dylan tribute bands

So it goes...