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The Daily Commute: A Hotbed for Innovation?
You're late for work and sitting in gridlocked traffic that shows no signs of clearing out anytime soon. Even if you manage to quell the road rage bubbling up inside of you, this isn't exactly the perfect setting for your next visionary idea – or is it? According to the results of the 2005 Lemelson-MIT Invention Index™ survey, more than 20 percent of American adults believe that their most creative thoughts come while traveling in a car. The Invention Index is an annual study measuring Americans' attitudes toward invention and innovation. This year's Index focused on the locations and conditions that best promote innovative thinking.
Read more articles from the August 2005 issue of InventHelp's free newsletter for inventors |
The 2005 figures, which were released this past January, were culled from a nationally representative sampling of 1,003 adults in September 2004. The two-part survey asked respondents first to answer the question, "Where do you do your most creative thinking?" and then to complete the sentence, "My most creative ideas come when…". The most popular response for the first query was "in the car" (20.4 percent), followed closely by "in my office, workspace or school" (19.9 percent) and "in bed while falling asleep, waking up or dreaming" (15.6 percent). For the second part of the survey, participants claimed that being alone (66.1 percent) and having a quiet, disturbance-free environment (47.1 percent) constitutes the ideal setting for creative meditation.
Lemelson-MIT Program Director Merton Flemings notes that the uninterrupted solitude of vehicular travel creates a fertile breeding ground for innovative thought. "Many Americans feel they spend half their lives in cars, but we were surprised by just how many people felt their daily commute was conducive to creative thinking," he said. "But when you stop to think about it, it makes sense. Daily commutes in this country are getting longer each year and the car may be one of the last environments in which we can escape from our over-stimulated lives and just be alone with our thoughts."
Indeed,
Flemings himself is a testament to the inspirational effect that
car rides can have on one's creative faculties. A noted
inventor who holds 26 patents, Flemings was traveling alone on
the Massachusetts Turnpike when he suddenly formulated the basis
for his most important discovery – a greatly improved process
for producing lightweight metal parts that are used in airplanes
and, of course, cars.
But while the car surprisingly proved to be Americans' favorite spot for innovative thinking, two wildly popular settings – "watching television" and "listening to music" – placed at the very bottom of the results with meager 1.6 percent and 1.0 percent figures, respectively. However, despite this sentiment that television adversely affects one's imagination, Americans continue to devote huge chunks of time to the small screen. According to the nonprofit TV-Turnoff Network, the average American racks up approximately four hours per day watching television, or an eye-popping 1460 hours every year! On the other hand, a 2004 U.S. Census study indicates that Americans spend a comparatively low 260 hours commuting over the same period.
Flemings believes this data underscores the need for Americans to allot more time to activities and settings that promote innovative thinking. "Television has an important place in our culture," he said. "However, our society faces significant challenges that will require fresh and imaginative ideas. Young people, especially, need to gain real-world experiences and be exposed to environments that are conducive to creative thought. That means turning off the TV every so often."
"The Invent Help People" couldn't agree more with Dr. Flemings' assertion that people need to set aside time to cultivate their creative ideas. We also subscribe wholeheartedly to the theory that innovation can happen at any time and in even the most unlikely of settings. So the next time you're ready to honk your horn in frustration, take a deep breath and remember that the bumper-to-bumper traffic in front of you could possibly be the stimulus for your next brainchild.
Full Results of Lemelson-MIT's 2005 Invention Index™ Survey:
Where do you do your most creative thinking?
1. In the car (20.4 percent)
2. In my office, workspace or school (19.9 percent)
3. In bed: falling asleep, waking up or dreaming (15.6 percent)
4. Outdoors (14.4 percent)
5. In the bath or shower (4.9 percent)
6. While exercising (4.9 percent)
7. Watching television (1.6 percent)
8. Listening to music (1.0 percent)
Choose the responses you think best complete this statement:
"My most
creative ideas come when…"
1. I am alone (66.1 percent)
2. It's quiet and there are no disruptions (47.1 percent)
3. I'm not stressed (32.3 percent)
4. I'm working with others (24.5 percent)
5. I'm under pressure (23.3 percent)
6. I'm competing against others (15.1 percent)
7. There’s a lot of noise and activity (6.1 percent)
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