Oh, I think so for sure…my grandfather is a trinket guy, always making things…(Dad’s side) and on my mom’s side we are all very creative people…my uncle has several patents that are now in stores (selling) and so, I do think there is some truth to it…I also think people that create see things a little differently…when we are at our best, we can see problems with everyday objects and I think once you open your mind to possibilities, the flood gates open and it’s hard to stop the ideas from flowing…IMO!

Very interesting !! i was just thinking " skip generations" when i read Robers reply :) i agree that traits cont. through out … However myself being adopted i cannot account for that my self… Now i think Yes… inherited AND environmental (nature vs nurture) as well… My adopted dad… DAD helped design; and be the first to " try out" the Sky Genie…:) was a GREAT improviser… and so am i…

love this topic !!! :)))

I think there is definitely a hereditary component to the urge to invent, but just as other traits skip generations or seem to come out of nowhere it’s certainly not determinative.

Coincidentally, I just made this Blog entry (to complete the list of welcome tasks):

Invention In the Blood?

November 02, 2011

Sometimes I wonder where my urge to invent comes from – why do I have to do things differently, never content with the “normal” way? Is it possible there is a genetic component? There is some evidence for this in my family background. My Dad was always an amateur inventor and tinkerer. He was always sending suggestions to companies to improve their products – for example, after seeing all of the broken buttons on my “Speak and Spell” he suggested that the company substitute membrane buttons for the hard plastic buttons. They took his suggestion but never even responded to his letter. Halloween 1978 – I was Luke Skywalker and Dad made me a “light saber” with a flashlight and a plastic tube for storing golf balls. Later on, someone used this concept to make a toy that I imagine sold in the millions. Going further back, the “P” in DAP (maker of caulk and many other products) stands for Pontius. During the Depression, Grandpa converted a Model T into a tractor and hired it out for all of the farmers who didn’t have tractors. Grandpa was what you might call an “autodidact” – a self-taught engineer who made almost everything he used rather than buy ready-made goods.