In 1874, Alexander Graham Bell spent the summer with his parents in Brantford, Ontario. He was twenty-seven years old, and employed as a speech therapist in Boston. But his real interest was solving the puzzle of what he then called the “harmonic telegraph.” In Boston, he had studied hard, tinkered obsessively with tuning forks and electromagnetic coils. He continued his work in Brantford. One day, Bell went for a walk on a bluff overlooking the Grand River, near his parents’ house. As he mulled over everything he had discovered about sound, he had an epiphany. At that moment, Bell knew the answer to the puzzle of the harmonic telegraph. It took another two years of work, and then, on March 10, 1876 the telephone was born.
Many people desire to enjoy the pleasures of discovery and invention. Nikola Tesla said it best, “I do not think there is any thrill that can go through the human heart like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success… Such emotions make a man forget food, sleep, friends, love, everything.” There have been so many scientific discoveries and technological inventions from so many people over the centuries. A range of diverse people. Every race, tribe, skin colour and nationality has displayed creativity and inventiveness. There are no spiritual or physical characteristics that exclude anyone from discovery and invention.
You can tap into the power of discovery and invention if you can seek out and master the principles. Using Alexander Graham Bell as a case study, we can identify some steps to take. You need to identify a problem you want to solve, you have to read and learn all you can about it, and then take out time to think and meditate on the problem. Be ready to invest a lot of time into such pursuits. The bible says that “The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts” (Proverbs 20:27 ESV). You cannot think and meditate productively when there is nothing in your “innermost parts” for the lamp of the Lord to light up.
