The impetus of strength: Man’s unassailable belief

“Nothing comes from nothing - Invention, strictly speaking, is a little more than a new combination of those images which have been previously gathered and deposited in the memory.” - Sir Joshua Reynolds

The innovative conquest of Man and his romanticism of grand pursuits; gilded voyages of scientific discovery and exploration of the new frontier all emanate from the necessities of his humble origins. A renouncement of innocence embarked the great strides of advancement; born of the dissident and the free-thinking, unlocking the many mysteries of the old world.

We are rote witnesses to the ingenuity of our species. We revel in wonder of the possibilities of tomorrow and made willful converts of skeptics to firm believers. We have seen that there lies a method to their madness - the fearless visionaries who dared to dream in defiance, who told us to look to the stars and boldly march forward to challenge the limits of the quondam generations.

In each era are scions of the old heroes. The illuminated masters who have paved the way for the great modern minds - Archimedes to Oppenheimer, da Vinci to Graham Bell, Franklin to Jefferson, Faraday to Tesla and countless others. All of whom are forever celebrated and immortalised in their groundbreaking accomplishments. But to each revered intellectual, is a genesis to their tale that reveals a distinct commonality amongst these great men. The Resilience of the human spirit - one that stems from the innate and unassailable belief.

It has never failed to astound me, this mystic human quality, when a person finds the flame of courage and inner strength within. That once belief is established, irrelevant of one’s limits and physicality, the capability of the mind to endure pain and resist deterioration is truly extraordinary.

Pharmaceutical companies will have tested, as a basis of standard, a narcotic drug - in all it’s intents and purposes; to prove definitive potency over a placebo or placebo effect - A pervasive psychological phenomenon; The power of the brain in the state of belief.

But unlike the placebo response that is reliant on deception and sophistry, there are numerous historical accounts of such exceptional human element manifested in many different forms. One story that captivate and inspire is the life and struggle of Robert Kearns.

Robert Kearns, the inventor of the intermittent windshield wiper. Whose brilliant idea came from a champagne cork accident, bravely took to court the entire automobile industry who has used his patent since ‘69. An ordinary man who had an idea, one he prides as his own but above anything, an idea he believed in and fought valiantly for. His greatness however, wasn’t so much in the patent itself but the story of how a simple man of little stature and fragile frame, took on the sentinels of the industrial world.

He battled in court the “Big Three’’ - Ford, Chrysler & General Motors. Representing himself mostly in court, Robert did not have any legal training prior; aided only by his six children in research, the set-up was not going to be your typical David and Goliath story but rather a mere mortal against a faction of Titans.

But who would have thought that a little project conceived in a Detroit basement would prove to be both catalyst and sword that will lead the charge to challenge these colossal institutions. Who at the helm of the great industrial revolution, wields an almost authoritative influence and power over many; and with it entails control and manipulation at their disposal.

But to a fiery Bob Kearns these tactics to suppress and subdue only served as fuel with high octane properties. He was not going to sell out, for his principles did not come with a price tag.

His move was unprecedented on a national scale. The stage is set, Bob came to fight.

There are those whose principles cannot be bought.

The argument presented by the defense was that Robert Kearns’ invention did not meet certain patent standards and that his intermittent wiper did not pass a specific criteria of an “inventive step” or “non obvious” - the lack of originality and novelty, due to the fact that his invention consist of no new components. The defense thus claim Mr. Kearns patent to be invalid.

On the stand was a man of high education, a PHD in Electronics Engineering who claimed that Mr. Kearns invention was merely a combination of components nothing new. A diagram consisting of common electronic integrants: “A capacitor, a variable resistor and a transistor.” Just basic parts arranged in a particular order.

Allegedly, in this specific part of the court proceedings, Robert presented a Charles Dickens book “A Tale of Two Cities” and began to quote: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness..” and immediately began to ask of the words found in the book. Were they invented by Mr. Dickens himself? or just a combination of words arranged in a particular order. Stating the obvious, this would then invalidate Dickens to claim the novel from a creative stand point.

But it is in the order of arrangement that Charles Dickens created the timeless literary masterpiece.

The quintessence of an invention, is in the utilization of pieces available to us at the time and with it, creating something new.

Robert Kearns won the litigation with Ford and Chrysler. However, it was a long and arduous fray that he had fought all the way to the Supreme Court. The exhaustive court battles eventually took it’s toll and robbed him of a happy life. To Bob, it was never about money. All he ever wanted was to manufacture wipers with his children.

It was a lonely path he chose in the name of principle and justice, that although it may not have transpired to be the fairy tale story we had all hoped for, Robert Kearns will be remembered for many generations as the champion to those victim to patent infringement.

I consider Robert’s tale as one of the greatest underdog stories of our time. Reminding us that the size and might of the opposition matters little if with our mettle and fortitude we stand courageous in belief; It is in the strength of purpose and indomitable will that all walls become surmountable. It is with a resolute air that we breathe deep and push forward, far beyond the tempest and overwhelming adversity. Then maybe in this fine form, as the spirited Robert Kearns, we are set to forge a great story of our own.