Cars are often designed by committees over a long period of time. Sometimes the results are stunning. Usually they’re pretty boring. The 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado was a stunning beauty (at least to some eyes) that was the result of just one designer working at his own pace. Without interference from a committee or management, David North created an amazing looking car that broke the mold of huge, shapeless boxes that were the norm for American cars built in the ‘60s.
When interviewed about the design process, North commented about the freedom his team had in the design, and the fact that without corporate interference, his first vision for the car was also the last. To emphasize his point, he stated: “Sometimes the first idea is the best idea and if you fool with it you lose it.”
Read that statement again slowly and let it sink in: “Sometimes the first idea is the best idea and if you fool with it you lose it.” When I heard him say it I couldn’t help but smile and nod stupidly in agreement. Thank goodness no one was around to see me. It’s a brilliant notion, really. It’s not about change or progress, it’s about a thought, an idea, that is so perfect at its inception that tinkering is nothing less than destructive. It’s about that flash of brilliance, that Aha! Moment, that needs no further adjustment. It’s all about getting it right the first time and leaving it at that.
Take a look at the wonders of the universe we call home. It’s amazing, beautiful, brilliant and couldn’t be more perfect. What’s even more amazing that creation is the fact that God took just 6 days to create everything out of nothing, and He did it alone. He had no committee to help him. There was no planning board, no review committee, no bureau of standards and minimum requirements, no management team, no advisors, nothing but God’s single genius.
God didn’t get involved with design studies, market surveys, soft openings, test audiences or opinion polls. 6 days, 6 unique stages and that’s all it took to create everything there was, is and ever shall be. As David North put it, “Sometimes the first idea is the best idea and if you fool with it you lose it.” The way things look to me, there is no arguing that God’s idea for the universe we call home was absolutely the best idea.
Even we humans, in concept, were a great idea, the best idea of all. Sadly, God’s great decision to let us fool with His creation caused a certain amount of loss. Clearly, many of our ideas are not the best ones, and we’ve managed to make something of a mess of things. To paraphrase David North, we fooled with it and we lost it. Nevertheless, the potential is there. We are part of God’s first, best idea. If only we could stop fooling with it we would see just how great an idea it really was in the first place.
When interviewed about the design process, North commented about the freedom his team had in the design, and the fact that without corporate interference, his first vision for the car was also the last. To emphasize his point, he stated: “Sometimes the first idea is the best idea and if you fool with it you lose it.”
Read that statement again slowly and let it sink in: “Sometimes the first idea is the best idea and if you fool with it you lose it.” When I heard him say it I couldn’t help but smile and nod stupidly in agreement. Thank goodness no one was around to see me. It’s a brilliant notion, really. It’s not about change or progress, it’s about a thought, an idea, that is so perfect at its inception that tinkering is nothing less than destructive. It’s about that flash of brilliance, that Aha! Moment, that needs no further adjustment. It’s all about getting it right the first time and leaving it at that.
Take a look at the wonders of the universe we call home. It’s amazing, beautiful, brilliant and couldn’t be more perfect. What’s even more amazing that creation is the fact that God took just 6 days to create everything out of nothing, and He did it alone. He had no committee to help him. There was no planning board, no review committee, no bureau of standards and minimum requirements, no management team, no advisors, nothing but God’s single genius.
God didn’t get involved with design studies, market surveys, soft openings, test audiences or opinion polls. 6 days, 6 unique stages and that’s all it took to create everything there was, is and ever shall be. As David North put it, “Sometimes the first idea is the best idea and if you fool with it you lose it.” The way things look to me, there is no arguing that God’s idea for the universe we call home was absolutely the best idea.
Even we humans, in concept, were a great idea, the best idea of all. Sadly, God’s great decision to let us fool with His creation caused a certain amount of loss. Clearly, many of our ideas are not the best ones, and we’ve managed to make something of a mess of things. To paraphrase David North, we fooled with it and we lost it. Nevertheless, the potential is there. We are part of God’s first, best idea. If only we could stop fooling with it we would see just how great an idea it really was in the first place.
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