Photo by Hunter Haley on Unsplash
When you hear the word “toolkit,” the automatic image that enters your mind is probably a metal box tucked away in a garage filled with home improvement tools.
However, toolkits have been around for almost 3.3 million years. We use them in our lives all the time even though we might not know it. Where did toolkits come from? The first Toolkit originated from Lomekwi 3 in West Turkana, Kenya. It was made up of basic tools like stone hammers and stones that were sharpened to cut or smash wood and food.
All toolkits are different but they all are similar in one way. They help make our lives easier and do things more efficiently and simpler.
Not all toolkits are made up of drills, hammers and screw drivers. Some are made up of methods or processes like the MITRE Innovation Toolkit (ITK). More modern toolkits are used for innovation and creative problem-solving. This new concept helps the user figure out solutions in a more effective way. They also have the ability to adapt the tools for their own purpose and perspective. Like ITK, we have tools that make the users look at possibilities, causes, and solutions to their problem by laying out their thoughts out on paper for a more collaborative effect.
Even after 3.3 million years, we still go back to that same concept of using and creating toolkits to help make our lives easier and be more efficient. What would you put in your toolkit?