Popular Mechanics/Volume 49/Issue 1/Putting Your Imagination to Work
Automatic Recorder to Measure the Muscular Control of a Pianist While He Plays: the Bellows on Each Wrist Actuates the Pair of Pens Which Mark the Revolving Chart
By DONALD A. LAIRD
(Professor of Psychology, Colgate University)
"What chances have I to be an inventor?" With hard work, sufficient knowledge, and a harnessed imagination the chances are good.
Inventors differ from the rest of us only by having better success at putting their imagination to work. We all have imagination, but not all of us have yet found how to make use of it.
When we look into a show window, or read a magazine, or examine a radio set, we are using our minds for discovery.
Dr. Robert S. Woodworth, head of the department of psychology at Columbia university, says that as soon as we use imagination our mental processes change from discovery into invention.
When Benjamin Franklin watched the discharge from crude batteries and the flash of lightning, he was using his mind for discovery. Franklin stepped out of the crowd when he put his imagination to work on these discoveries and made inventions.
There are five conditions which help the use of imagination for invention:
Youth is a favorable condition. The ages from twenty to forty are the best. Under twenty is the time to master the subject; after twenty is the time to use this knowledge through the imagination for invention.
Good physical condition is essential. The world's geniuses are not weaklings, 
A Measure of Hitting Capacity Is Obtained with Mallet and a Scale
although the common opinion is that they are. Most geniuses have lived longer and better than the average run.
Mastery of the subject is also necessary. There are very few "lucky" inventions that have been made accidentally.
Another requisite is hopefulness. A pessimist is rarely an inventor. The inventor has to have enough imagination and confidence to take a chance. Lindbergh was willing to take a chance.
Inventors should restrict their imagination to very definite problems. Francis Galton, the first scientist to study imagination, found that inventive mechanicians had considerable imaginative ability. "The best workmen are those who visualize the whole of what they propose to do, before they take a tool in their hands." he said. This power to see things in the "mind's eye" can be helped if one systematically exercises the imagination. Day dreams are merely the play of imagination, not exercises. Reading maps and picturing in imagination the contour of the roads, the appearance of the mountains and the positions of the cities is a good exercise. Practice studying blueprints so that you can see the completed machine working in your imagination. Exercise your imagination to see how the furniture in your room would look if it were rearranged. Odd moments can be used to profit on exercises such as these.
How people are different in their imagining abilities is astonishing. Some people can easily imagine how things would look if they could be seen, but are totally unable to imagine sounds. The musician, it has been found, should have a good imagination for sounds.
The value of imagination-developing exercises is shown by eminent composers insisting that pupils compose music without the help of an instrument, using only paper and pencil. They must be able to compose by "hearing" the notes only in imagination in order to become really great composers.
Beethoven lost his hearing, but had such a well-developed imagination for musical sounds that he was able to write some of his most triumphal symphonies by hearing them only inwardly in his imagination.
Not all of us have the auditory imagination and other mental abilities to make us great musicians, but each person has some strong points in his imagination of which he should make the most use.
There was the case, for instance, of a highly educated merchant who was born in Vienna. He was master of German. Spanish, French, Greek and Latin. His visual imagination was remarkable. He no sooner thought of persons or things than, in his imagination, they stood before him with all the clearness, sharpness and accuracy of the real object. He could add difficult columns of figures by seeing them solely in his imagination.
To depend almost entirely upon one form of imagination is often a handicap. One of the masters knew this and, in teaching art, had his pupils not only draw from memory to cultivate their visual imagination, but also had them follow the outlines of objects by moving their pencils around in the air to force them to cultivate their muscular imagination.
A curious application of this is cited by a foreign observer, whose quarters were visited by some North American Indians. The drawings in magazines which they saw there struck their fancy, and one of them, who wished to make a similar drawing on returning to his wigwam, followed the outline of the drawing with the point of his knife, so he could carve it better on his return home.
There are some inventors whose muscular imagination is so defective that they are unable to construct the machines they invent. They have to make drawings of them or describe them to someone with a good muscular imagination who builds the models.
It is visual imagination which is the greatest help for invention. Some wonderful mechanics are poor inventors because they have cultivated their muscular rather than visual imagination. The following tests may help you not only to cultivate your imagination but also to develop it:
Where is the strong part of your imagination? Grade yourself from 0 to 3 on each question as follows:
0, if you are unable to imagine it at all;
1, if you can imagine it only faintly;
2, if your imagination of it is fairly strong;
3, if it is as vivid as though it were actually present.
Visual imagination:
Try to imagine the west side of the house you are now living in.
How is your imagination of a mixed bouquet of carnations and roses? Get a mental image of the appearance of a schoolroom you have known.
The Ability to Withstand Fatigue Is an Important Factor in Many Lines of Work, Which Tire Some Muscles Excessively; Here Is a Woman Receiving the Fatigue Test
Hearing imagination:
Imagine a four-cylinder automobile motor, with one cylinder missing.
Grade your imagination as you recall the voice of your favorite radio announcer.
How strong is your imagination in recalling the sound of a coarse file at work on brass?
Muscular imagination:
Imagine you are winding your watch. How distinctly can you feel the ratchet and the increased resistance of the spring as the watch is almost wound?
How vivid is your imagination of the muscle strain in throwing a ball with all your strength?
To get a total for each variety of imagining power add the grades you gave yourself, keeping each of the three sections separate and comparing the sums.
Use your imagination to fill in these blanks so the paragraph makes good sense:
When Fulton ... the first steamboat on the Hudson river a couple of ... men ... a living by ferrying ... from New Jersey ... New York. A few ... were engaged ... operating sailboats up the river. These ... fought the steamboat bitterly ... they feared that a few ... would do all the ... they were doing and that most of them would lose their ...
How many words can you build with the letters e, b, a, h, t, m?
A fertile imagination will be able to see many words using only letters included in this list.
LOCK WASHER HAS EVEN GRIP TO DEFEAT VIBRATION
TESTER OF CHILDREN'S HEARING ELIMINATES GUESSWORK
Pupils Receiving Hearing Test with Aid of Phonograph Record: Sound Is Transmitted through Headphones and Each Child Writes Down Words He Hears; Volume of Tone Can Be Varied
Accurate tests of pupils' hearing are possible with an instrument that transmits sound from a phonograph record through a number of headphones the children wear. The record is simply a series of numbers, spoken through a reproduction of the human voice and in constantly diminishing volume. The subjects write down what they hear, the results giving a faithful report of the acuteness of hearing in both the right and left ear. This method eliminates the guesswork usually attending ordinary whisper tests and other experiments where the acoustics of the room, the nervousness of the child and other factors are not properly taken into consideration in the final judgment.
SPRINGS AS LONG AS THE CAR ADD RIDING COMFORT
For Smoother Riding in the Small Auto: Drawing to Show the "Cantilever" Springs in Place
A new idea to increase the riding comfort of the small auto, provides 200-inch springs which reach from one axle to the other, while the car is carried by a fulcrum joint just back of the engine. The springs, designed for a car having cross springs at front and rear, give the effect of double-cantilever suspension. The front spring is discarded and part of the rear spring retained. The car body is fastened to the rear spring and pivoted at a point near the dash. It is claimed the springs eliminate the usual swaying of the body and give the small car as good riding qualities as a high-priced automobile.
AIRPLANES MADE MORE STABLE WITH VANE CONTROLS
Promise of greater safety in flying is seen in a stabilizer arrangement which is reported to have proved successful in a number of tests. Its chief service is to automatically adjust the ship to correct the pressure of air currents and changes in engine speed, so that it serves as a silent pilot when the operator, for any reason, relinquishes control of the stick, yet it is said not to interfere with his actions when he assumes charge. The apparatus consists chiefly of a pillar mounted on a universal joint and with two vanes at the upper end. It is placed clear of the propeller and where no parts of the ship are likely to cause eddying. At the lower end, two sets of wires are connected, one pair spanning fore and aft to the elevator controls which govern the ship's climbs or descents. The others are connected to the wing guides which affect the airplane's side movements. In actual use, the performance of the unit is somewhat as follows: Assuming that the ship is going eighty miles an hour and flying level, the wind pressure on the vane facing the direction of flying, drives it back against the tension of the adjustable fore and aft spring. If this has been set to the proper stiffness so that the plane is balanced at eighty miles an hour, when the nose tips down and speed is thereby increased the vane is driven farther back, tension on the spring relieved and the elevator in the back comes up, leveling the ship again to an even keel. Should the plane point up. decreasing the speed, the vane, subjected to less wind pressure, comes forward, pulling with it the control in the rear to tip it back again when the normal speed rate is restored. This same principle also is applied to the operation of the aileron controls, the side vanes being helpful in balancing the ship in turns and banks in accordance with the wind pressure to which they are exposed.
Stabilizer in Place on Airplane Wings; It Tends to Correct the Ship's Position with Respect to Air Pressure at Various Speeds
CHURCH BUILT WITHOUT NAILS EIGHT CENTURIES OLD
Glue and Wooden Pegs Hold This Norwegian Church Together; It Was Erected nearly 800 Years Ago
One of the sights of Oslo, Norway, is a wooden church, 800 years old and built entirely without nails. Glue, wooden pegs and braces hold the structure together. Its queer, pagodalike form illustrates the style of architecture peculiar to the period.
MOVIES OF BIRDS AND INSECTS TEACH FLYING SECRETS
Motion pictures of the dragonfly and humming bird have been prepared by the British government in the hope that the films may reveal flying secrets that will enable engineers to design more successful helicopters and other aircraft. The dragonfly and humming bird are masters of the art of pausing in the air and this is one of the feats man has been attempting to imitate in his airships for a long time. The pictures will be analyzed carefully when shown, in an effort to learn the wing and other movements. The humming bird is regarded as one of the miracles of nature because of its skill in balancing in the air without apparent effort.
SIXTY-FIVE YEARS OF PROGRESS IN LOCOMOTIVES
NEW THIRTY-MILLION BRIDGE TO SERVE NEW YORK
Work on another bridge for New York City, to link the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Queens, and to cost approximately $30,000,000 has started and is expected to be finished in four years. The structure will be 16,850 feet in all, the main part will have facilities for the operation of eight lines of vehicles and the Manhattan connection, six lines. There will be two five-foot walks for pedestrians. The bridge has been designed to harmonize with the Hell Gate arch bridge and will have a central span, 1,100 feet long, and two side spans, each 500 feet. The portion over the Harlem river will consist of a double-leaf bascule affording two channels, each 150 feet wide, and a vertical clearance of fifty feet at mean high water. Toll will be charged for passage across the viaduct, which is expected to prevent a traffic-congestion crisis that might develop, due to the increase in communication between Manhattan and Queens with the opening of the new artery at West 178th street.
FOOT LEVER ON WASH BASIN SAVES TIME AND WATER
Addition of a foot lever by which the water is turned on, is the latest improvement on the circular wash basin popular in large industrial plants. It leaves both hands free to use the liquid soap which is supplied from nozzles in a center rack, automatically shuts the water off when the foot is released, to prevent waste, and simplifies the cleaning of the basin. Water is poured forth as a fine circular spray, and is so distributed that ten men at one time can wash conveniently and thoroughly with no more water than ordinarily would be used by one man with an old-type single nozzle, continuously running.
Men Turn the Water On with Their Feet as They Wash at This Big Basin, Large Enough for Ten
STEEL "DRESS" FOR SMOKESTACK IMPROVES CITY'S LOOKS
Steel Lattice around High Smokestacks, to Shield Their Unsightly Appearance in Residential District
To hide the bare outlines of tall smokestacks on a power plant near a residential district in New York city, a framework of steel has been built around them. This feature, with careful smoke control, makes the plant much less objectionable to persons living in the neighborhood.
WINDSHIELD WIPER IS HEATED TO DO BETTER WORK
Ice and snow are said to be removed from the windshield as easily as moisture, with a wiper that is electrically heated. In most respects, it resembles the ordinary unit, but has a resistance element that comes in contact with the glass, keeping frost from accumulating and also expediting the removal of water.
BRAKE ON AIRPLANE PROPELLER TO AID IN LANDINGS
Brake Mechanism Which Enables Pilot to Change Pitch of Propeller and So Slow Plane Down Quickly
Airplanes can be stopped within a space about twice their length when landing, according to claims of a western inventor for his propeller brake. It consists chiefly of a small motor, with push-button regulator on the control stick, whereby the propeller can be made to push the air instead of drawing it back. This is accomplished by changing the pitch of the blades with the motor apparatus. It is expected that the device will also be of aid to the pilot when the plane strikes air pockets or other "bumps" along the sky ways.
ROGUES' GALLERY OF MOVIES TO HELP CATCH CROOKS
Short pieces of motion-picture film, showing the subject in different poses, will be filed away in the rogues' gallery in Chicago, if present plans of the police department are carried out. It is believed that the movies will greatly help in identifying suspects, as they will show how a man walks and performs other movements which would give additional clues to their identity.
FOUR-INCH PANSY BLOSSOMS PRIZE GARDEN FLOWER
Pansies with blossoms four inches across and with stems eighteen inches long, are grown by a Connecticut florist in large numbers every year. They are the result of selection of seed and care, but the grower declares that anyone could produce equally handsome flowers by proper methods. The seed is planted outdoors in summer and the plants are removed to hothouses at the approach of cold weather. They are reset in soil in which the flowers never have been grown before, and, at the end of the season, the soil is entirely replaced by new. Ordinary fertilizers are used, but one of the mysteries of the plants is that they will grow to such large size only in certain localities and, after having produced huge blossoms for a number of years, they will suddenly lose their size and quality. These constitute some of the hazards of the pansy-producing business the grower declares. In good seasons, however, he may ship as many as 75,000 blossoms in one day.
Huge Pansies beside Stack of Books, and Rule to Show Their Enormous Size