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Tell HN: Why reinvent the wheel?

17 points by lukeqsee 16y ago

Because if we didn't, we would still be using circular stones as our wheels. So, today, reinvent something that annoys you. It might change the world.

christophe971 16y ago
The "glass half-empty" people call it reinventing the wheel, we call it "improving and bringing the wheel experience to a whole new level".
- beej71 16y ago
  Reminds me of this bit from HHGTTG, paraphrased from memory: "Update from the 'wheel' committee?" "Well, we're having a bit of trouble there--" "--Trouble?! It's the single simplest invention in the history of humanity!" "All right then, if you're so smart, maybe you can tell us what color it should be!"
  - Mz 16y ago
    Reminds me of all the design pitches in The Hudsucker Proxy.
solipsist 16y ago
Reinventing the wheel did not happen over night. In fact, it took over 2,000 years for human civilization to build on the original potter's wheel and turn it into to the spoked wheel[1]. Innovation takes time, and therefore reinventing something does as well. I agree that we should constantly be trying to reinvent the technologies we currently have to make them even better, but I'm not sure if the analogy you used is the best one for this argument. However, it does remind us that innovation takes time and that we should not expect to fully reinvent something in our lifetime. Instead, we should accept the fact that we will be one of many to contribute to innovation. We can keep the big picture in mind, but we can't let it consume ourselves. [1] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel#History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel#History
Mz 16y ago
Before I even read this, my smart-aleck thought was: Because it's there. (Then it turned out you were saying the opposite of what I expected, so I didn't post it, only now I am anyway...:-/)
anamax 16y ago
Another reason to "reinvent the wheel" (the other meaning) is to build your own chops.
ygtckr 16y ago
I believe that one day we will truly reinvent the wheel. Probably we will call it supersonic balancer or something like that, but everyone will knew that those shiny little boxes are actually wheels. Like we know those iPhones are actually tiny supercomputers which Steve Jobs will use to conquer the world. Think about it! He had just started his evil plan by costing conventional countries millions by making their wage slaves show up late. Two words: EVIL GENIUS.
- maushu 16y ago
  I'm guessing it would be more like those sphere from 'I, Robot'. The limitation of the wheel is that it doesn't go sideways, a sphere would fix that.
textnotspeech 16y ago
I like to think of it as refining the "wheel". In some cases, it's about the visceral experience of having built a "wheel". Not all creations are a function of utility.

17 points by lukeqsee 16y ago

Because if we didn't, we would still be using circular stones as our wheels. So, today, reinvent something that annoys you. It might change the world.

christophe971 16y ago

The "glass half-empty" people call it reinventing the wheel, we call it "improving and bringing the wheel experience to a whole new level".

beej71 16y ago
Reminds me of this bit from HHGTTG, paraphrased from memory: "Update from the 'wheel' committee?" "Well, we're having a bit of trouble there--" "--Trouble?! It's the single simplest invention in the history of humanity!" "All right then, if you're so smart, maybe you can tell us what color it should be!"
- Mz 16y ago
  Reminds me of all the design pitches in The Hudsucker Proxy.

solipsist 16y ago

Reinventing the wheel did not happen over night. In fact, it took over 2,000 years for human civilization to build on the original potter's wheel and turn it into to the spoked wheel[1]. Innovation takes time, and therefore reinventing something does as well. I agree that we should constantly be trying to reinvent the technologies we currently have to make them even better, but I'm not sure if the analogy you used is the best one for this argument. However, it does remind us that innovation takes time and that we should not expect to fully reinvent something in our lifetime. Instead, we should accept the fact that we will be one of many to contribute to innovation. We can keep the big picture in mind, but we can't let it consume ourselves. [1] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel#History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel#History

Mz 16y ago

Before I even read this, my smart-aleck thought was: Because it's there. (Then it turned out you were saying the opposite of what I expected, so I didn't post it, only now I am anyway...:-/)

anamax 16y ago

Another reason to "reinvent the wheel" (the other meaning) is to build your own chops.

ygtckr 16y ago

I believe that one day we will truly reinvent the wheel. Probably we will call it supersonic balancer or something like that, but everyone will knew that those shiny little boxes are actually wheels. Like we know those iPhones are actually tiny supercomputers which Steve Jobs will use to conquer the world. Think about it! He had just started his evil plan by costing conventional countries millions by making their wage slaves show up late. Two words: EVIL GENIUS.

maushu 16y ago
I'm guessing it would be more like those sphere from 'I, Robot'. The limitation of the wheel is that it doesn't go sideways, a sphere would fix that.

textnotspeech 16y ago

I like to think of it as refining the "wheel". In some cases, it's about the visceral experience of having built a "wheel". Not all creations are a function of utility.