Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c1166IR // #c1166Synthesis

"He first studied the art of making the Buckingham or pillow-lace by hand, with the object of effecting the same motions by mechanical means."

— In our words · Source: Self-Help (Samuel Smiles)

[Use when]

You are automating a process you have never done by hand.

[Why it matters]

Heathcoat mastered the motions himself before trying to mechanize them. His master called him "undaunted by failures and mistakes," and the result was the bobbin-net machine.

Filed under situations:When you’re building the thing, not just planning it

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