Hi, Chris.........
I remember time when I was a boy, there was never ending flood of ideas passing trough my head so fast like movie pictures, always changing.....
I had so strong association that mere word from teacher or read in a book would bring many pictures about things connected with it, and my mind worked like trap for facts, allways corelating and cataloguing.
Perhaps that is the reason I never had to >>learn<< things that were explained to me just once and I understood how this connect to other things I know.
That is why I was able to answer any question and explain why it is so, even if people may have tought I am sleepwalking.
In time I learned to discipline my imagination and use it as a tool, and I learned how to slow down and stop that never ceasing flood, at least long enough to write down what I considered worthy writting down to be able to think about it some other time.
But this also have proven inadequate, as there was no time to read this all and systematize things, because I was studying paralel to work, first in factory and then as computer programmer.
So long years after, when I finaly catched some time or was making order in my papers and chanced on my writtings about ideas I had, I have find same ideas repeated even 14 times. But, most of them were implemented by this time by someone who have acted on them and made them real. My only satisfaction was that when someone have beat me in putting some idea I worked on on the market, that I developed it on my own and in matter of days or months, while whole teams of experts were working on same ideas for dozens of years, and in the end my ideas were slightly better or more practical then best they have developed.
Therefore read this carefully:
1st. Each idea has its own time. When it was time of cars or aeroplanes, everybody was inventing them. Therefore, one must ACT and try to make it real, in period when it appear.
2nd. Realizing them is not easy or simple, so write each as it come on paper or better still in computer, and then at least once a week make top list of ideas, and start working from top to bottom of list.
3rd. Work on particular idea untill nothing new connected to it do not appear in your mind, then go to next one.
4th. Work systematicaly and analyse idea first to see what functions it should fulfill, based on which inputs and which outputs (results) are expected. To be able to do it properly find some books about System Analyse and Systems Engineering, if You are able to discipline Your mind and think logicaly and analiticaly.
Here is >>Crash Course<< in System analyse and synthesis:
5th. Treat each idea as >>Black Box<< for which You must determine functioning, see what is supposed to come in and what is supposed to come out. Use your imagination to connect inputs to outputs and envision what could cause such change or metamorphosis. Then write down this conclusions and mock up listing example inputs and see if those inputs processed as You imagined would give required outputs.
6th. Once thing function roughly on the paper, analyse each function as smaller >>Black Box<< unitll You have written how could it be functioning, Repeat this until only something simple remain that is understandable by itself.
7th. When all functions for any combination of inputs and give correct outputs, You can start looking for way to implement this engineered system into real thing, researching ways how to actually process inputs to get required outputs from each >>Black Box<<, big or small, that have ceased to be >>Black Box<< once You named it and described its internal functions as smaler black boxes, and those have ceased to be unknown same ways when You named them and enumerated functions contained within creating still smaller >>Black Boxes<<, and so on untill everything was simple and understandable.
8th. According to generall descriptions, find way to implement each function, providing interfaces and connections to define how inputs are received by whole system, then first level of functions, then by subfunctions untill some simple operation remains.
After this, You have conceptual prototype of idea You are implementing. This, if done properly enable You to build real prototype that could be tested with real inputs to see if system produce required outputs.
It should work, as You tested it step by step in details. Using such systematic approach, You can be reasonably sure that thing would work as expected, but for real testing You must use someone who know nothing about Your invention/idea/system except what inputs may be and which results could be expected. Let this person make own inputs, and You can pretend to be black box for processing those inputs, so you process them by following Your own instructions and descriptions to see if proper results would appear. It is nice game to play, if You have someone interested in such thing or is >>Inventor<< also, so You can cross test functioning of systems you build.
Whenever You find that You dont know how some function is achieved, you have to study all You can get about such or similar functions, to be able to connect one concept to another and enable that function in question is carried out properly.
You are lucky to live in age of Internet where most of informations are available for asking, provided You know what You should ask :-))
So only limitation is Your imagination, and this You seems to have, even if it is still wild and not housebroken.
Remember allways that each thing is system by itself, but is also subsystem in some greater one, and everything is interdependent. Just like precise Swiss watch, if some part is missing, thing would not function, it must be complete.
Last but not least, dont be afraid nor ashamed to ask questions about things You dont know, as nobody was born old and wise, but do not expect that people would serve You ready made solutions for answers.
Then also, dont ask too much, only really hard questions or things You are not sure of. If You ask too much, people would think You dont understand anything, and that it is waste of time to give explanations. Do not just ask questions, make statements to show Your reasoning and ask for confirmation that You made proper conclusions.
People would gladly put You straight if they see that You have perhaps deviated from proper reasoning for lack of knowledge, but if they see that instead of logicall conclusions You only imagine how things could work, they would write You off as dreamer who have no connection to reality.
As severall coleagues have pointed out (some rather harshly), idea in Your head is worth nothing unless You can describe in details how it would work and prove that it works, if only on paper. In proving others that it works, You may find that some parts are missing, as You >>assumed<< them to be there, or that some connection is missing, or that simply You imagined something that cannot be actualized in reality, at least not right at this moment since nobody invented such technology (like teleporter unit, that someone mentioned). In such cases try to substitute that subsystem by similar but existing technology or method, else You would have to invent missing part..........
Allways use what You have at hand, and most handy thing is constructive imagination.
Sometimes, idea is simple enough and technology is available, so if You are lucky and have got it in right time, written it down and tested logically, then You may suceed to create something even in your young age, not like me who is nearing 60 and have enough time only because of being retired for health reasons, and main problem are migraines that disable me to think while they last :-((
For the end of this post, You must learn to analyse Your ideas impasionately, looking them as mere facts and comparing them to what allready exist, to see if they are different to warrant change of technology or methods by which similar things are made. I recomend that You use computer a lot, as mistakes made there are easy to mend and no material is spent save for Your energy and time.
You must know that when change cost more than value of benefits would produce , it is not implemented, even if Your idea may be little better.
Also, if Your idea cause too drastic changes, it would be implemented ONLY if absolutely necesary or because it is question of life and death, else it has to wait its time.
I remember how in 70's Computer Engineers comming from laboratories of FUJITSU in Japan were describing huge LCD and plasma screens, but it has taken 25+ years for them to come to market, because huge factories for making cathode tubes did not have paid themselves nor brought expexted profit to owners till then. It even did not mattered that those cathode ray tubes were rendgenizing TV audience and causing cancer, which has ulitimatively cost far more than change of technology would cost, in cancer threatment costs alone, not coulting loss of lives and suffering caused unnecesary.........
Then also, some ideas are too dangerous to be implemented, so all angles have to be explored before implementation......
Take robiticized factories as example: they freed people of need to do dangerous or harmfull jobs in automobile industry and fastened production by order of size and made cars cheaper and stronger....... From ecconomic and health angle there were only benefits, but people become unnecesary and lost their jobs, which was logical result of introduction of such idea.
So, be carefull what You imagine, sometimes it comes true and becomes real, but results may not be alltogether beneficial, if You do not think about everything.
I invented new kind of Wind and Solar Power stations that produce cheap electricity and Retirement fund that could pay 20% ROI on money deposited in Fund from start, multiply money at least 3 times in 36 months, which can be consolidated and so guaranteed 20% would be tripled also, which would enable anybody to retire at will, provided he receive enough for living, and this would liquidate unemployment fast, by freeing jobs and creating jobs by building factories and instalations.....
Interestingly, nobody is interested to implement this, everyone is looking for >>old and proven<< technologies, and this I cannot understand, because all declared goals of lessening polution, Global Warming, powerty and hunger would be reached, specialy by implementing my Water production devices that can provide water on agricultural scale and so help feed at least one to three billions of people.........
So, I wish You sucess and best luck wih Your inventions or ideas, as I still fight to find someone who would understand benefits of my own..........
Regards from Croatia, homeland of one of greatest inventors, Engineer Nikola Tesla!
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