Just Imagine

Just Imagine

By Mark Leitheiser

Imagine you were part of a great basketball team when you were a kid. You can remember the name, number and scoring average of every player that powered that team to a championship season. I was a member of a team like that when I was in grade school and I still remember every member of the team which is interesting because that team wasn’t real. I imagined every player and every game as I took shot after shot at the sagging hoop hanging from the front of our barn.

Now, if you are of a certain age, having grown up with a red, white and blue basketball in your hands, the idea of imagining an entire basketball team may not seem odd. If you were born during the last twenty years, however, the idea of imagining an entire team probably seems like lunacy. Why would you go to the trouble of imagining a team when you can create one on your computer? And there’s the problem. Nothing can replace the imagination when it comes to improving our world.

The benefits of a healthy imagination are well documented. Experts provide an extensive list of positive outcomes including social and emotional development, creative, linguistic and cognitive growth, improved memory and problem-solving skills and better self-confidence. While the exact number of benefits of a healthy imagination may be open to debate, one thing seems clear: imagination starts early.

Imagination seems to be as natural to children as throwing tantrums in the grocery store.

Don’t believe me? There are countless parents who could tell you about the time they splurged on the expensive Gyromatic Mongo Toy from their local ToysBMe only to find Junior ignoring the toy while playing with its box. Less expensive instruction comes from rocks and sticks that can pass for anything from a car to an airplane in a child’s imaginary dream space.

Of course, the imaginary world doesn’t stop at early childhood. For decades, boys and girls have found that taping playing cards to their bike spokes allow imaginary motorcycle rides through the neighborhood. Those who added extra cards for a deeper sound probably rode imaginary Harleys. Guys like me, sporting a single Joker, settled for Italian scooters.

Teens too, indulged in imagination, even though they probably didn’t realize it at the time.

Come home late with the car? Imaginations run wild as teens explain away the reason for their tardiness. Or how about the time they didn’t get their homework done for that stupid English teacher? Trust me: teens have extraordinary imaginations when their homework is missing.

On a personal note, all barriers to the limits of imagination were kicked down when I watched in awe as a teenage boy farted the national anthem at summer camp. With imagination and patriotism like that, it’s no wonder the US emerged as a superpower, yet this success didn’t happen without a little help.

Today’s technology is an incredible tool to help us build the dreams conceived in our imaginations. Yet technology is only a tool and the best computers are still located between our ears. Before we can build it, we have to imagine it and hopefully, that will never change.

To illustrate, let’s go back several thousand years. Rides were a little rough back then, owing to the square wheels on the family wagon. Then one day around 4,000 B.C. a Mesopotamian, almost surely someone’s wife, imagined a different kind of wheel. I imagine it went something like this: “Honey, this ride is a little rough. What if you cut the corners off the wheels?” “Don’t be silly, Sweetums, … that will never work!” “Come on now, Sweetie, just use your imagination; let’s give it a try.” And thanks to B.C. Sweetums’ persistence and imagination, we’ve enjoyed smooth rides ever since. Technology has certainly helped perfect the wheel, but it was imagination that created it.

To be clear: I am not against technology; I am using it to write this fine article. But every great creation needed to be imagined before it could be created. Let’s consider a few other great achievements in history. In 1969, the United States landed a man on the moon. In our lifetime someone- no relation of mine- imagined something called the internet. Have you looked at the new stadiums being built these days? Only a fertile imagination could conceive of such palaces and for a real stretch of the imagination, check the prices for a hot dog or a beer at one of these stadiums.

While skyscrapers, pyramids and rockets are impressive proof of imagination at work, the best stuff is closer to home. For example, whoever imagined the Stir Crazy popcorn popper is my hero. Think of it: add popcorn, oil and a yellow plastic lid with holes for butter and wait for the jolly cadence of popping to stop. Then, simply flip the whole contraption on its head and enjoy a fresh batch of popcorn. If this isn’t clear proof of the benefits of imagination, then I don’t know what is.

Yet, imagination earned its gold medal when employees of a restaurant near Disneyland imagined a new creation by seasoning stale tortillas. Thus, in 1966, a new food group called Doritos was born and, as with the wheel, life has been better ever since. A world without Doritos? Can you imagine?

We live in a world governed by technology aimed at improving our lives and, in many areas, it has succeeded. But if we really want to improve our future, we may be better off handing our children a stick, a rock or a cardboard box. Imagine that.