Rube Goldberg is known for his writing, cartoons, and a varied body of creative work; but he is best known as a descriptive term for anything needlessly complex that accomplishes something simple.
As a side note, I am trying very hard to live so that I will never be a descriptive term for future generations.
Mr. Goldberg was best known for creating humorous, satirical cartoons depicting crazy contraptions that accomplished simple tasks.
If you think of scenes from movies like Home Alone, Back to the Future, and the cinematic masterpiece Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, anything involving a ball rolling down a track, hitting a wooden bird, whose beak triggers a spinning wheel to move a lever that starts an alarm clock or a toaster, you know something about the Rube Goldberg effect.
His name has been used by a US Supreme Court justice to describe certain legal processes and politicians to describe pieces of legislation. (Who could have seen that coming?)
Rube was born on this day in 1883, raised in New York City, and died in 1970.
His legacy can best be exhibited by the Rube Goldberg Institute of Creativity and Innovation, a nonprofit encouraging education in STEM fields and the arts. Awards are given annually for inventions, which might be seen as frivolous; but the level of knowledge of physics and engineering is stunning.
Learning can be fun!
If you search Rube Goldberg on YouTube, you will be astounded by inventions that after ten minutes observing various laws of physics play out, you might see a single tissue removed from a Kleenex box or a saltshaker passed.
Maybe you can guess where I am headed with this. For aspiring authors, try these applications:
Don’t overthink something that might need a little extra effort to overcome instead.
Sometimes, solutions to complex problems are simple.
Sometimes, answers to complex questions are very simple.
People who are successful in the arts and make things look easy have almost always spent a lot of time practicing the art. Practice makes patient progress.
Happy July 4, and for those in some other countries that drive on the wrong side of the road, happy 4 July.
