Makers: The New Industrial Revolution
1) Surprisingly, this book was about DIYs. But not in the way you're currently thinking. Chris Anderson compares the "bit world" to the "real world" and shows readers how the Internet and digital manufacturing have completely changed the way we create.
2) Starting from the very beginning when Anderson mentioned patenting, which is what we covered in class last week, I knew I picked the right book. Anderson talks a lot about the convergence of inventing and entrepreneurship in recent years, and how exactly to thrive off of that.
3) If I had to design an exercise for this class, I would take a page out of Chapter 7, the first page to be exact. Anderson has his kids assembling lego robots and radio controlled planes. Similar to the workshops, I would have the class meet (in sections, or in workshops as is done now) and instead of building an idea, they would build a "prototype" out of legos. I've done this, and similar things to this in other business classes, such as designing a new cereal and creating a business plan and decorating a cereal box to show the class. These "prototypes" would be made out of legos, I wouldn't expect them to be very elaborate, but definitely something recognizable that could be sold and marketed if it were made with actual materials. I think this is a good way to showcase the marriage of inventing and entrepreneurship, it would get the gears turning in our heads and force us to come up with something tangible and achievable.
4) The most surprising thing I learned from this book was the evolution of the automobile industry. Of course, I expected that the industry would mature and improve, as does any, however, I didn't realize what a difference the latest technology has made. The example given was Local Motors, but their story inspired me to research further. We are way past just the assembly line these days, there is no longer a single design to be focused on or a focus on imitability. Now there is a huge community involved in the process, from the designers to the customers, everyone is involved in the creation of each new model.
2) Starting from the very beginning when Anderson mentioned patenting, which is what we covered in class last week, I knew I picked the right book. Anderson talks a lot about the convergence of inventing and entrepreneurship in recent years, and how exactly to thrive off of that.
3) If I had to design an exercise for this class, I would take a page out of Chapter 7, the first page to be exact. Anderson has his kids assembling lego robots and radio controlled planes. Similar to the workshops, I would have the class meet (in sections, or in workshops as is done now) and instead of building an idea, they would build a "prototype" out of legos. I've done this, and similar things to this in other business classes, such as designing a new cereal and creating a business plan and decorating a cereal box to show the class. These "prototypes" would be made out of legos, I wouldn't expect them to be very elaborate, but definitely something recognizable that could be sold and marketed if it were made with actual materials. I think this is a good way to showcase the marriage of inventing and entrepreneurship, it would get the gears turning in our heads and force us to come up with something tangible and achievable.
4) The most surprising thing I learned from this book was the evolution of the automobile industry. Of course, I expected that the industry would mature and improve, as does any, however, I didn't realize what a difference the latest technology has made. The example given was Local Motors, but their story inspired me to research further. We are way past just the assembly line these days, there is no longer a single design to be focused on or a focus on imitability. Now there is a huge community involved in the process, from the designers to the customers, everyone is involved in the creation of each new model.
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI particularly liked the exercise you would do for this class, to build a prototype and make our opportunity a tangible one. I enjoyed reading your reflection of this book, so I’m probably going to read it for my next assignment. I think it’s interesting that the book covers patents, as well as, speaks about the automobile industry and the technology surrounding it.
Hi Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your reflection about this book. I also really like your idea on the exercise you would have the class do based on the book. I have been involved in creating prototypes before through the innovation academy, and I can say its a very interesting experience. One of the assignments my group and I had to do for one of the classes was create our own childhood toy. Through this project we were able to get involved in prototyping programs to draft our design and then use 3-D printing for our final result.