

Tell HN: Why reinvent the wheel? - lukeqsee

Because if we didn't, we would still be using circular stones as our wheels.<p>So, today, reinvent something that annoys you. It might change the world.
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ygtckr
I believe that one day we will truly reinvent the wheel. Probably we will call
it supersonic balancer or something like that, but everyone will knew that
those shiny little boxes are actually wheels.

Like we know those iPhones are actually tiny supercomputers which Steve Jobs
will use to conquer the world. Think about it! He had just started his evil
plan by costing conventional countries millions by making their wage slaves
show up late. Two words: EVIL GENIUS.

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maushu
I'm guessing it would be more like those sphere from 'I, Robot'. The
limitation of the wheel is that it doesn't go sideways, a sphere would fix
that.

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solipsist
Reinventing the wheel did not happen over night. In fact, it took over 2,000
years for human civilization to build on the original potter's wheel and turn
it into to the spoked wheel[1]. Innovation takes time, and therefore
reinventing something does as well.

I agree that we should constantly be trying to reinvent the technologies we
currently have to make them even better, but I'm not sure if the analogy you
used is the best one for this argument. However, it does remind us that
innovation takes time and that we should not expect to fully reinvent
something in our lifetime. Instead, we should accept the fact that we will be
one of many to contribute to innovation. We can keep the big picture in mind,
but we can't let it consume ourselves.

[1] - <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel#History>

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anamax
Another reason to "reinvent the wheel" (the other meaning) is to build your
own chops.

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textnotspeech
I like to think of it as refining the "wheel". In some cases, it's about the
visceral experience of having built a "wheel". Not all creations are a
function of utility.

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christophe971
The "glass half-empty" people call it reinventing the wheel, we call it
"improving and bringing the wheel experience to a whole new level".

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beej71
Reminds me of this bit from HHGTTG, paraphrased from memory:

"Update from the 'wheel' committee?"

"Well, we're having a bit of trouble there--"

"--Trouble?! It's the single simplest invention in the history of humanity!"

"All right then, if you're so smart, maybe you can tell us what color it
should be!"

~~~
Mz
Reminds me of all the design pitches in _The Hudsucker Proxy_.

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Mz
Before I even read this, my smart-aleck thought was:

Because it's there.

(Then it turned out you were saying the opposite of what I expected, so I
didn't post it, only now I am anyway...:-/)

