Everyone assumed being Elon’s cousin meant she would invent rockets, batteries, or machines that frightened economists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lulu Musk had different ambitions. She specialized in improving moments too small for civilization to notice. Her breakthrough came by accident. While trying unsuccessfully to repair an old tape echo, she assembled a small metal disc no larger than a hockey puck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One button. You pressed and it applauds. Just warmly enough to suggest that somewhere, someone thought you had done rather well. She called it The Pocket Applause. Investors hated it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“What problem does it solve?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“None,” Lulu answered. “It congratulates.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Within a year it became a worldwide phenomenon. Musicians used it first for unique dilemmas. After finally understanding an impossible Bill Evans voicing. (applause) After discovering the mysterious buzz in the amplifier had simply been a loose cable. (applause)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Piano tuners carried one. So did conductors. One drummer pressed it every time he successfully counted off a tune without the bassist rolling his eyes. A violinist used hers after every practice session, whether or not it went well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“My teacher supplied enough criticism,” she explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recording engineers became devoted customers. After six hours of adjusting microphones, someone would whisper,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I think you can hit applause now.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Music critics, predictably, despised it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It trivializes artistic achievement.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It encourages mediocrity.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lulu read every review with interest. Then pressed her Pocket Applause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clap clap clap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One afternoon cousin Elon phoned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I hear you’ve built something completely unnecessary.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lulu smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We’re both in the hope business.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elon laughed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“You build machines that persuade people tomorrow might be extraordinary. I built a machine that says today wasn’t entirely wasted.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After Lulu died, people continued carrying Pocket Applause devices. Some models barely worked but they were loved still because it applauded tenacity. The stubborn decision to continue. Rewrite another verse. Drive another six hundred kilometres for an audience of twenty-three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some inventions make history, others help people survive Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Everyone assumed being Elon’s cousin meant she would invent rockets, batteries, or machines that frightened economists. Lulu Musk had different ambitions. She specialized in improving moments too small for civilization […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"Layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[900],"tags":[],"class_list":["entry","author-rockbob","post-9654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-tales"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bobwiseman.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bobwiseman.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bobwiseman.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bobwiseman.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bobwiseman.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bobwiseman.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9654\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bobwiseman.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bobwiseman.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bobwiseman.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}