Men and women, young and old, frequently say to me "What we need is ''a-watcha-ma-call-it'', why don''t you work on it?" or "I''ve got an idea, you ought to think about it", or "The problem with this thing is-, why can''t you invent something to solve it?" When people find that I am an inventor they somehow feel that I have the only set of keys which opens all doors. Not so! This book should provide a set for everyone. Each one of us has latent inventive ability, but most do not realize this because they imagine a few gifted people are inventive. Only after years of inventing did I realize that there is no great mystery involved and that anyone can invent if he or she follows a checklist until all the possibilities are ex­ hausted. My longtime desire has been to present to teachers and students everywhere, and at every level of education, a sim­ ple, practical, and methodical approach to invention and so increase manifold the ordinary person''s creative ability. This book realizes that dream.