Simple Solutions for Complicated Problems

Here’s a story that applies to problem-solving in everyday work. Sometimes we get so involved in a complicated solution that it crowds out a simple one.

In the early days of space exploration, American Astronauts and Russian Cosmonauts had the need to write things down in space. Nobody thinks about it a lot, but ballpoint pens require gravity to work. You’ve probably noticed this if you’ve ever tried to write upside down.

Well, NASA had a challenge. How can we get a pen to work in outer space? The story goes that NASA spent a great deal of money—several million dollars-- theorizing and engineering how to get a pen to work in zero gravity.

Finally, NASA settled on an ink cartridge pressurized with nitrogen at 35 pounds per square inch. This pressure pushed the ink toward the tungsten carbide ball at the pen's tip.  NASA also developed a gel-like ink that converted to liquid when the ballpoint rolled. It was a successful engineering effort, and the “Space Pen” worked. Another engineering marvel by NASA!

The Russians? What did they do? Well, they used a pencil.

I’ve researched this story and it actually is a bit more fiction than fact. However, the lesson of the story applies to all of us. We sometimes get so invested in a complex solution that we overlook a simple one.

Ask yourself: Am I looking for a space pen when a pencil might work? If you pause and ask this question, you might save yourself a lot of time, money, and trouble.

Bonus info in case you are curious about what really happened. Elements of the story are true:  Both Astronauts and Cosmonauts originally used pencils. Both wanted to use something different because broken pencil lead was a problem in the vacuum of space. Along comes Paul Fisher and the Fisher Pen Company. Independent of NASA, Fisher developed the Space Pen as described above. Eventually, both the Americans and Russians bought Space Pens from Fisher, and they still use them to this day.

You can buy Fisher Space Pens online. Not a bad idea for an innovation award.