The audacity of solving serious problems
Behind every life-changing design there are people who made the choice to carry the weight of tremendous responsibility.
The pacemaker regulates the heartbeat. Implanted in the chest, it monitors the heart's rhythm and sends electrical signals to the heart when dangerous rhythms are detected.
In the 1950s, John Hopps, Wilson Greatbatch and Earl Bakken took great risk in developing this device. Surely, they needed a strong level of confidence and courage testing their early prototypes on desperate people. The same is true for all designers, engineers and doctors who have since revisited the design to improve upon it.
The pacemaker is just one example. This level of importance is not limited to medical devices.
Firefighter protective gear protects the lives of those who save lives. In the early 1900s when gear was made from asbestos, there was a 1 in 1,000 chance a firefighter wouldn't survive to retirement. Today, the chance is 1 in 10,000 thanks to people who developed gear made from Nomex, Kevlar and PBI (polybenzimidazole).
Ceramic and biosand water filters provide clean drinking water to people in developing countries. The radio allowed people to hear important local, national and global news. Refrigeration allowed for food to be stored for longer periods of time resulting in less waste.
Without the people who dare to push the limits on helping others in profound ways, life would be even more fragile than it already is.
