Rube Goldberg machines
Absurdly complex devices
Rube Goldberg machines are deliberately overcomplicated contraptions designed to perform simple tasks through chain reactions of trivial steps—a ball rolls down a ramp, tips a lever, releases a weight, which eventually flips a light switch.
Named for the American cartoonist who drew such devices, the term describes any absurdly convoluted method: Getting reimbursed requires a Rube Goldberg machine of forms and approvals.
- gadgetrySmall clever devices collectively
- chain reactionSelf-sustaining causal sequence
- marble runTrack for rolling spheres
- pulleyGrooved wheel for rope
- mechanismMeans by which something operates
complexity · overengineering · sprocket · invention · lever · ball bearing · cartoonist · contraption · gear · kinetic sculptures · domino · mousetrap · satire · inefficiency · absurdity · humorist · devices · clockwork mechanisms
Rube Goldberg machinesshortcut
Quicker alternative path
Occam's razor · quick fix · direct approach · simple machine · streamlined process
Rube Goldberg machinesminimalism
Aesthetic of reduction
form follows function · KISS principle · utilitarian design · simplicity · less is more
Goldberg, machine, machines, machinery, machinist, machining, machined