After the Frisbee was invented in 1938, it remained relatively unchanged. There was no clear reason to make any adjustments. There was even a seven time Frisbee World Champion Scott Zimmermann who had brought mastery to the sport.
In 1986 though, Zimmerman threw an Aerobie flying disc 383 meters, for a world record throw of any non-propelled object.
How did inventor Alan Adler create the Aerobie, when it was so clear that the Frisbee was a done deal after so many years?
It turns out, there are the obvious moments that pop up for us to act, or to engage.
This is after we see the steps. After the foundation is laid. After we’ve done it once before already.
Then, there are the non-obvious moments to engage – perhaps we feel we don’t have enough time, we don’t have enough resources or we’ve never tried this out before. It doesn’t exist yet, or It’s simply not clear.
Adler did more than create motion in a non-obvious moment, he actively sought out such situations. He used these gaps to create many inventions. To toe the line of risk, to make things better.
Adler has quite the track record. He now owns over 40 patents in numerous fields.*
*Including the Aeropress, which then radically disrupted the coffee market from around 2007
