I conducted a workshop on the Japanese art of "unuseless inventions" - known as Chindogu. We had a great time, and stay tuned for the blog post and some really cool Chindogus. Meanwhile, here's the deck from my workshop. Have fun!

1. Tathagat Varma
http://thoughtleadership.in
Let’s build
something
“unuseless”

2. Adventurer, learner, speaker...
Tathagat Varma "TV"

4. “Every child is an
artist. The problem is
how to remain an
artist once we grow
up.”
Pablo Picasso

5. Our brains are lazy!

6. They like patterns!
"I cdn'uolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd
waht I was rdanieg: the phaonmneel pweor of the
hmuan mnid. Aoccdrnig to a rseearch taem at
Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr
the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is
taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The
rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it
wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid
deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a
wlohe. Scuh a cdonition is arppoiatrely cllaed
Typoglycemia .
"Amzanig huh? Yaeh and you awlyas thguoht slpeling
was ipmorantt.”

7. Time for a Brain Workout!

9. “I have coined the term
“bisociation” in order to make
a distinction between the
routine skills of thinking on a
single “plane”…and the
creative act, which…always
operates on more than one
plane.”
- Arthur Koestler,

10. Bisociation Examples
• Louise Braille: pinecone + reading =>
Braille system
• George de Mestral: burr from burdock
plant + zipper => Velcro
• Jake Ritty: ship’s engine room + cash
problem => (eventually) NCR!
• Edwin Budding: clothes factory +
outdoors => lawn mower
• Christopher Sholes: saw piano and
thought if it each key could write a letter

11. Warm-up
• Think of an object
• Think of any activity you can do with it
• Exchange the “object” with anyone in
the room
• Exchange the “activity” with another
person in the room
• Now think of something you can do
with what you have!

12. And now…let’s go crazy!!!

13. h"ps://youtu.be/FjuCwnoNWQw

14. Chindogu?
• Coined by Kenji Kawakami, Editor of
“Mail Order Life”
• Means “Unusual Tool”
• Chindogus solve everyday problems
• “Unuseless” = useful (i.e. not useless)
but very crazy or inconvenient to be
usable
• If it is worth stealing, then it is not
Chindogu!

15. No real use!

16. It must exist!

17. Anarchic!

18. Universally useless!

19. Not for sale!

20. Not funny!

21. No propaganda!

22. Always decent!

23. Free for all!

24. For everyone!

25. Why build something
“unuseless”?
What’s the use of a newborn baby?
– Benjamin Franklin, 21 Nov 1783

26. Ok…let’s build some
chindogus!

27. References
• http://www.chindogu.com/
• The Big Bento Box of Unuseless Japanese Inventions, 2005,
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393326764/
• 101 Unuseless Japanese Inventions, 2000,
http://www.amazon.com/Unuseless-Japanese-Inventions-Kenji-
Kawakami/dp/0393313697/
• 99 More Unuseless Japanese Inventions, 1997,
http://www.amazon.com/99-More-Unuseless-Japanese-Inventions/
dp/0393317439/
• http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/GH26Dh01.html
• http://www.tofugu.com/2012/02/20/chindogu-useless-japanese-
inventions/
• http://inventorspot.com/articles/
chindogu_art_intentionally_making_useless_invention_39210
• http://www.newshub.co.nz/tvshows/nightline/useless-inventions-all-
the-rage-at-fringe-festival-2010032222#axzz3zsaUdvmM
• http://www.tofugu.com/2012/02/20/chindogu-useless-japanese-
inventions/

28. Thanks!
tathagat.varma@gmail.com
cc: Stuck in Customs - h0ps://www.flickr.com/photos/95572727@N00