Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1880-03-11

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3 ventor's study, under his direction, a
work upon the drawings from whicl
, the machine was to be constructed
| The inventor, copying from the plal
: imprinted on his brain, dictated to thu
, draughtsman (who acted as o mer,
, pantograph) every line, circle anC
curve which was to be transferred tt
the paper, giving the exact place
length and dimensions. The result
was q working drawing, from which
alone the machinists were able to con,
struct perfect machine, working with.
out experiment or adjustment exactly
as it was contrived by the inventor.
The difference between the working
of mind like Mr.. Bigelow's and thai
of an inferior inventor is one Of degree,
not cf kind. The same kind of think
ing is done with more or less thorough
ness by every true inventor. And those
who stop short in their creative think
ing and begin to materialize their in
vention too soon only multiply their
chances for going wrong, increase their
labor needlessly, and demonstrate their
incapacity to reach the higher levels OF
the art Of invention. 10 begin to build
when the object is but vaguely appre-
hended is to invite confusion and fail
ure by turning the mind off from the
highway of invention to the bewilder-
ing by-paths Of unintelligent expert
mentatiOn.
In that wide field Of invention in
which the self-imposed task of the work
er is to accomplish new result by a
wise choice and combination of known
means, the rules to be followed are ad-
mirably set forth in Mr. Bigelow's de-
scription of the working Of his own
mind in developing the inventions for
which he is so honorablyI known.
Speaking upon this point, he said:
" My first step toward an invention
has always been to get clear idea of
the object aimed at. l learned its re-
quirements as q whole, and also as COM
posed of separate parts. If, for exam
pie, that object be the weaving of coach
lace, | ascertain the character of the
several motions required, and the rela-
tions these must sustain to each other
in order to effect the combined result;
secondly, devise means to produce
those motions; and thirdly, combine
these means and reduce them to a state
of harmonious cooperation. To carry
an invention through the first and Sec
ond stages is comparatively easy; the
first is simply an investigation of facts;
the second, so far as | can trace the
operations of my own mind, comes
through the exercise of the imagination,
/ am never at loss for means in the
sense above explained. On the con-
trary, my chief difficulty is to select
from the variety always at command
those which are most appropriate. To
make this choice of elementary means
aud TO combine them in unity and har
mony-to conduct, that is, an invention
through its last practical stages con
stitltes the chief labor.
sin making this choice of elementary
parts one must reason from what is
known to what is not so-keeping in
mind, at the same time, the necessary
combinations, examining each element,
not only in reference to its peculiar
function, but to its fitness also for be-
coming part Of the whole. Each de-
vice must be thus examined and re-
examined until harmony and unity are
fully established. l find no difficulty
in efecting that concentration of
thought which is so necessary in pur-
suits like mine. Indeed, it is not easy
for me to withdraw my mind from any
subject in which it has once become in
terested until its general bearings, at
least, are fully ascertained. | always
mature in my mind the general plan Of
an invention before attempting to exc
cute it, resorting occasionally to
sketches on paper for the more intri-
cate parts. In building q machine
draughtsman prepares the working
drawing from sketches furnished by
me, which indicate in figures the pro-
portion Of the parts, l never making
anything with my own hands. / do not
like even drawing to a scale. "
Inventors less favored by nature with |
the power of close and long continued
mental concentration which Mr.. Bige-
low was blessed with, or lacking the |.
Vividness and accuracy of his concep-
tions and the strength Of memory
which enabled him to hold fast the +
mental image of a complicated machine
which his Imagination had put together,
may have to resort sooner to the pencil
sketch or the material model. But
these are apt to become distractions.
rather than aids, and the younginvent-
or should study to do without them as
long as possible. The moment the in
ventor materializes an idea his power
over it is so far lessened. If the ma
terial form is not just what it should be
to suit the ultimate combination it is
far harder to recast it, in the third
stage of invention as described by Mr.,
Bigel0w, than it would be if preserved
as a purely mental conception.
OF course to the man who has crea-
tive mental power, hand skilled in
the arts of drawing and mechanical
may be, and if properly
exercised will be, a desirable adjunct
in the art of invention; but it is not an
factor, for many successful in
Ventors have been, like Mr.. BigeloW,
unable to give their new conceptions
embodiment; and where man
ual skill furnishes a too ready incentive
Lo tho overhastv NATURALIZATION of