PEOPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW: PART 4- YOSHIRO NAKAMATSU

This will probably be the last "People You Should Know" post for a while because this man is (in my opinion) the best human being alive at the moment.

Let me introduce you to Yoshiro Nakamatsu, or as he is known in Japan, Dr. NakaMats. This man holds the record for most patents ever held by a single person. 3,000 plus and counting and the man is still inventing today in his late 80's.  His first credited invention was an archaic device called the Floppy Disk, or as my generation calls it, "The save button" in which he worked with IBM to develop and distribute it. An article by The Smithsonian listed his inventions:

"Among his other creations (he will earnestly tell you) are the CD, the DVD, the fax machine, the taxi meter, the digital watch, the karaoke machine, CinemaScope, spring-loaded shoes, fuel-cell-powered boots, an invisible “B-bust bra,” a water-powered engine, the world’s tiniest air conditioner, a self-defense wig that can be swung at an attacker, a pillow that prevents drivers from nodding off behind the wheel, an automated version of the popular Japanese game pachinko, a musical golf putter that pings when the ball is struck properly, a perpetual motion machine that runs on heat and cosmic energy."

This man's mind changed the world multiple times over. The first 5 inventions alone changed the way millions of people live their lives. Whenever a great mind like this comes across in human history it is imperative that we study their habits, perhaps even apply them to other situations.

However, Dr. NakaMats had some very strange habits. The first is that he takes a picture of every meal he eats but the doctor isn't your typical young white girl, partly because he is 84 and Japanese, but also because he only eats one meal a day. That meal consists of various spices and low carb substances that he believes will allow him to live to 144.

Yep, 144. He wants to die at that exact age. No more, no less.

His creative process isn't exactly copycat materiel either. The doctor says that to get an idea for an invention he submerges himself under water until he is seconds from death, then takes a water proof notepad and pen (guess who invented it?) and the near death state he is in is where he comes up with his greatest ideas.

Next time one of your hipster "I'm an artist, meh" friends tells you how they started eating soy and now they can feel their inner Da Vinci, fill them in on what a true creative process looks like. Yeah sure Moon-Beam over there knitted a great quilt for the Loopis 5k next weekend but did they almost die just to get another idea?

NakaMats states that the lack of oxygen is crucial to the mind being at it's most creative. He stated once,

"A lack of oxygen is very important... I get that flash just 0.5 sec before death. I remain under the surface until this trigger comes up and I write it down." 

How the hell did he figure out that process? The last idea I had while drowning was that maybe Casey Anthony isn't the best swim teacher.

The method is only insane if the result is unsatisfactory and that is certainly not the case here. This process has caused the inventions of the most innovative objects of the last century. This man gave us the foundation that the technological boom was built upon.

I salute to you, Dr. Nakamastu.  Thank you for everything that people my age complain takes too long. I hope the next time anyone takes a cab to a karaoke bar thinks of Yoshiro and his contributions to the world.

Long live Yoshiro,  but not for too long, only until 144 when he is on patent 10,000.