May 15, 2020

Sometimes the past illuminates the present in surprising ways.  It occurred to me to ask David, our co-founder and head of R&D for Green Oasis Now, the following question:

“When you were walking across the desert for hundreds of miles, with only a small rucksack and a canteen, what did you do to have adequate water?”

“You can smell water,” he replied.  “Water is present in the subsurface, even in the desert, if you know where to look.  The smell of water is pulling you toward the place to look.  The water in a desert is shielded; otherwise it would evaporate.  It can be found in fissures in some rocks.  I always had a white linen handkerchief in my rucksack.  I could put the handkerchief into the fissure of such a rock and siphon the water to drip into my canteen.  Often it took twelve hours or more, siphoning in this way, to become refreshed and then fill my canteen and continue my walk.”

David’s description can be seen as an analogy for a creative process which has countless applications.

Sensing that which was needed (smelling the water), recognizing the rock (which could provide the solution), working out the details (to obtain the water) — this was for him essential during extensive walkabouts when in his twenties.

The developmental process for the Green Oasis Now innovations has been similar.

• Sensing that which is needed, or will be needed, and which can be brought forth as a solution.

• Recognizing the form which can provide the solution.

• Working out the details.

Unlike the siphoning of water from a rock, which required few steps, the working out of the details for visionary innovations has been significantly more complex.

For effective innovations the focus has been simplicity, efficiency and longevity — achieved through years of development and refining, with persistent patience, as with the drop-by-drop overnight filling of a canteen in the desert.

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