Everyone tells Newton's story in brief. They say that he was under a tree one day and an apple suddenly fell on him. He looked at it and wondered: Why did the apple fall from the top to the bottom? This is what led him to discover the secret of gravity. That's as simple as that! They also say that when Archimedes was swimming, he suddenly discovered the principle of buoyancy. He came out of the water naked, screaming in shock, "Eureka, Eureka!" meaning, I found it!

Accordingly, some people have begun to repeat that imagination is creativity, that innovation is a flash of inspiration, and that success is born of a moment. Based on these loose concepts, the market for relaxation and meditation sessions has become popular, and the necessity of hard work has been thrown to the sidelines for a while! This requires us to take a guiding stance as active individuals in society and as educators, teachers, and parents.

The apple falling was just a straw!

There is no doubt that no one can deny the benefit of relaxation and meditation sessions in stimulating imagination and thinking, nor can one deny what scientists have said that a person who has no imagination is as if he does not have wings. But we must not forget that a person who has imagination without knowledge is as if he has wings without feet. Yes, he may be able to fly, but he will not be able to walk, land, or even stop! We must also not forget that Newton's discovery of gravity came after many thoughts that crossed his mind, and that the fall of the apple was followed by hard work through which he was able to establish and prove the laws of gravity. As for Archimedes, before swimming in the palace pool, he used to walk back and forth through the courtyards of this palace, reading and examining from right to left to carry out the order of King (Ero) to discover whether the royal crown was made of pure gold or a mixture of gold and silver? After he was exhausted by thinking and searching, he found water and swam in it to rest. Then he found that the water rushes from both sides when he immersed his body in it. Then he had the idea of ​​using that to measure the purity of the material used to make the crown, using a piece of pure gold and another of pure silver, each separately, by immersing them in water and measuring the amount of displaced water, and then comparing! So the matter was not just a flash, but was preceded by exhausting thinking of the mind, followed by experimentation and testing, and the moments that were called a flash were like the straw that broke the camel's back, or the drop that displaced the water.

Therefore, it is important to realize that even if we have the most innovative ideas, capable of changing the world in the next decade, it is impossible to implement them and make them a real innovation on the ground without following them with serious work, research, investigation, testing and experimentation, which is called the process of employing the idea. Throughout history, there has been no major and influential innovation that did not go through long hours of testing, experimentation, modification and improvement until it became what it is. Not only that, even if scientists verify the validity of their discoveries that came to them in a moment or moments of inspiration, they are required to conduct studies and research that convince the world and prove to humanity the credibility of their opinions and the extent of the expected benefit from these innovations.

Star Trek ideas are good, but that wasn't enough!

For example, cell phones were just an idea introduced in Star Trek (a program that was shown in the 1960s), but they did not serve us as a practical application until decades of development and technical experimentation.

“If you always sit around waiting for inspiration to strike, it will probably never come. Instead, keep working and experimenting. If you feel like something is good, keep working on it.”

Hoff, 1968 Inventor of the first microprocessor (Intel, 2004)

Even hard work alone is not enough!

In addition to the spark of inspiration, research and effort, innovation also requires facilities that implement the innovation, and commercial institutions that support and market it to the world. Here, it is clear without a doubt that the idea of ​​innovation is just a small stage in the stages of producing innovation, and that the idea alone cannot provide sufficient guarantee for the success of the innovator.

For example, we need only look at the most significant technological innovations of the 20th century, such as the World Wide Web, the Internet browser, the computer mouse, and the search engine—four major developments in the history of business and technology—and we will find that they involve a long series of research and experiments. Not only that, but they came as a result of the collaboration of many individuals and organizations, and took years, if not decades, of work before they were achieved.

From grass straw to paper straw!

 “When a successful innovator thinks, he may come up with a brilliant idea in a flash of inspiration; then he goes on to develop it without thinking about the deals his idea will bring him, the excitement it will create for him in the world of industry, the million dollars it may bring him, or even the thought of becoming rich in the blink of an eye. Most of those who are keen to turn an idea into a distinctive innovation fail quickly. While the truly distinctive innovation may have begun as a simple idea, the work of the humble, ambitious thinker and his technical prowess turned it into a product worthy of changing the world.” Drucker, 1993 

 One day, while drinking his favorite mint julep through a straw, Marvin Stone thought of making a paper straw that would mimic the paper cigarette holders. The straws were used so many times that they cracked or got dusty when they dried out. Excited and hoping to enjoy his julep even more, Stone began testing his idea. He took a long, thin piece of paper, wrapped it around a pencil, and secured the end of the paper with a dot of glue.

Then, Stone made a set of these straws for his personal use and asked the drink vendor to serve them to him with his jallab. It wasn't long before other customers noticed how Stone drank his drink and wanted to drink jallab with paper straws, too.

Once again, Stone thought it would be fun to drink lemonade with straws, so he designed a straw that was 8.5 inches long and with a diameter that would not allow a lemon seed to pass through. The paper Stone chose was hemp paper coated with paraffin wax, to prevent water absorption and to prevent the paper from losing its strength after being placed in the liquid. Stone figured that his invention would be in general demand, so he obtained a patent, and suggested that the straw be used for all types of refreshments. By 1890, straw sales were increasing every month, and Stone had to move from his factory to a much larger one. Although Stone invented the pencil sharpener, the fountain pen holder, and several other things, it was his invention and development of the drinking straw that made him famous.

Finally...

 There is something we would like to conclude and emphasize, which is that it is great to have ideas, but it is even more wonderful to implement them successfully to contribute to the development of the world around you.