Necessity is the mother of invention – Meaning and Explanation

Its meaning: The famous proverb “Necessity is the mother of invention,” means that when a person feels a want, he discovers the means to fulfill it. Similarly, when a person confront a problem, he works hard to find a solution for it.

Explanation: In the dim past, people roamed in the depth of the forest in search of food through the livelong day. Accidentally some seeds fell from their hands on the ground and plants grew. They learnt that food could be grown on the soil, took to cultivation, and solved the problem of food.

Men felt difficulty in crossing a river or a sea. They flung bridges over rivers and invented ships to sail over the high seas. They invented trains and motor vehicles to travel on surface.

Men felt the necessity of reading books and acquiring knowledge and the printing press was invented.

After years of patient research, they found remedies against deadly diseases such as cholera, malaria, etc. these fell diseases. Science has even found ways to combat certain types of cancer.

If men were satisfied with what they had, they would not have taken pains to invent anything. Thus, necessity leads men to invent new things.