How Did the Dual Cyclone Lead to Later Dyson Inventions?

David Senra, reading James Dyson, says the Dual Cyclone led to later Dyson inventions because developing that first vacuum cleaner over the next dozen years generated dozens of other inventions along the way.

Most inventions come from earlier inventions and very rarely come out of nothing. They auto-generate out of each other, a kind of asexual reproduction of the product gene. The most interesting things usually happen when you come to design the product. Inventions generate new inventions, ideas generate new ideas, and opportunities generate new opportunities. Inventing is a continual process, and it is fluid.

Progress comes by stages, through persistent trial and error, and by changing only one thing at a time to see what difference that one change made. The approach has been neither quick nor cheap, but it is very valuable. Investment in new technology requires many leaps of faith and a huge financial commitment over long periods, with multiple failures, sleepless nights, and a great deal of frustration. Excellence is the capacity to take pain.