Reinventing the wheel

For many years in many different contexts I’ve heard someone say…

“I don’t want to reinvent the wheel.”

I often felt like they had a point BUT when I really think about it now I’m not sure what they meant.

Are they saying they don’t want to repeat history? Maybe they are afraid that someone is going to judge them for saying something or doing something that’s been done before?

But we do all kinds of things again and again. “I don’t want to re-brush my teeth, but…”

But the word “invent.” They seem to be referring to the act of creating something that hasn’t been created before. So they don’t want to create something that’s already been created? Like they don’t want to waste their time. Curious if it’s comparable to say:

“I don’t want to waste my time.”

I’ve also heard it in response to someone saying something, like “We don’t want to reinvent the wheel.” Again I think they are saying it to indicate there is a way to do something and they don’t think we want to spend time doing something if it’s been done before. But one of the things I’ve learned in life is that we can’t really know what it’s like to have something until we don’t have it, or we don’t know how much work something is until we try to do it ourselves. As a designer, I feel like I’m constantly inventing and reinventing things. I feel like the act of trying to invent something that has been invented before not only helps me to understand it more but also it helps me to understand the person who made it; Where was their head at? What were they really trying to do? How did they get there?

But the word “wheel.”

Why not nail or hammer or screwdriver or bifocals. Maybe it’s the “wheel” part that’s more important.

But the wheel isn’t just a wheel, nowadays there are so many kinds of wheels made of rubber, metal, plastic, and so many types of wheels for cars, bicycles, machinery. Actually it would seem to me reinventing the wheel is something that’s really human. Wheels augment heavy objects, offsetting the forces of gravity, they make work easier, rides smoother and cotton candy!

I think the next time someone says they “don’t want to reinvent the wheel”

I’m going to say: “Speak for yourself.”

Could it be or is it just me?