<ul><li>Most common adjectives you would use are faster, better, cheaper…</li><li>Some more like adaptive, distributed, efficient and newer ones like -</li><li>Wikipedia is encyclopedia democratized. </li><li>Pandora is radio personalized.</li></ul>

Take your original idea and add an adjective.

<ul><li>Straddle method in high jump sport changed to Fosbury method due to the introduction of foam robber in place of sandpit.</li><li>An irrelevant change that transforms the whole ecosystem and allows you to do the exactly opposite of everybody else.</li><li>High end medical instruments --> high resolution screens --> eyeNetra</li><li>This invention helped medical diagnosis reach children who need glasses and grown-ups get job in poor countries. This was a great socio-economic problem.</li></ul>

Take an idea X and do exactly the opposite of what everybody else is doing.

<ul><li>Combine idea X with something you already know like idea Y.</li><li>More dissimilar the two ideas, the more spectacular its fusion.</li><li>Portable CT = CT Machine + Space Telescope</li></ul>

Addition

<ul><li>Don't just solve the original problem that was solving a specific solution, but try to solve all the other solutions as well.</li><li>If an App store improves the quality of a phone and provides new solutions, What about an App store for every electronic gadget that's out there like microwave, refrigerator, car ?</li></ul>

Given a hammer, find all the nails. 

<ul><li>Given a new problem, don't just use the original solution for it, but trying to find all the solutions as well.</li></ul>

Given a nail, find all the hammers.

<ul><li>Raise your problem to the next level.</li><li>Generalizing an idea to the next dimension.</li><li>flickr(images) --> youtube(video)</li></ul>

Dimension

<ul><li>This idea hexagon is not just for inventing new technology, but can also be used for various things like figuring out what to do on your next vacation?</li><li>Maybe take it to the next dimension or combine that with some other ideas that you have, solve the earlier problems in new ways or do exactly the opposite of last year plans... </li></ul>

How to vacation like Ramesh Raskar?

If I hear a great idea X, what is neXt?Everyone is pushing the envelope in science and arts, but the process of invention can seem very confusing.We need a mental framework. Idea Hexagon.

How to invent?

Everybody faces problems daily and figures out ingenious solutions to it at their personal level. This is my tribute to them. Hope it helps!

As the Head of MIT Media Lab's Camera Culture Research Group, Professor Ramesh Raskar is credited with a long list of innovations, including a smartphone attachment that can diagnose eye problems. But he makes the point that you don't have to be a PhD to be an inventor. This inspiring talk from TEDxBeaconStreet equips every one of us with an easy-to-use framework for inventing the future, right now. Ramesh Raskar is a renowned inventor and innovator. He holds over 40 US patents and is recognized as a leading authority on computational photography. Slides for this talk: http://www.slideshare.net/cameraculture/raskar-ink-2012-in-pune-india-future-of-imaging-and-idea-hexagon Ramesh Raskar's home page: http://web.media.mit.edu/~raskar/ In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

philosophy

Philosophy

technologyandthefuture

Technology & The Future

problemsolving

Problem Solving

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

As the Head of MIT Media Lab's Camera Culture Research Group, Professor Ramesh Raskar is credited with a long list of innovations, including a smartphone attachment that can diagnose eye problems. But he makes the point that you don't have to be a PhD to be an inventor. This inspiring talk from TEDxBeaconStreet equips every one of us with an easy-to-use framework for inventing the future, right now.

Ramesh Raskar is a renowned inventor and innovator. He holds over 40 US patents and is recognized as a leading authority on computational photography.

Slides for this talk: http://www.slideshare.net/cameraculture/raskar-ink-2012-in-pune-india-future-of-imaging-and-idea-hexagon
Ramesh Raskar's home page: http://web.media.mit.edu/~raskar/

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

TEDx is an international community that organizes TED-style events anywhere and everywhere -- celebrating locally-driven ideas and elevating them to a global stage. TEDx events are produced independently of TED conferences, each event curates speakers on their own, but based on TED's format and rules.

TED's videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization/our-policies-terms/ted-talks-usage-policy). 

For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request here: https://media-requests.ted.com.

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