How Invention Begins ch. 2
This book is about invention--where
new technology comes from. In elementary school you learn of some
famous inventors, but it turns out to be more complicated than that.
Who invented the doughnut?
Do patents tell us who invented something?
Lienhard tells a story from his own experience of how it is more complicated than that--the idea goes through different hands and changes
The Patent System:
Patents before 1836 were lost in a fire:
- there are several different stories
- might they all be true?
- if you ask who invented the principle you find still more alternatives
- this is true of more serious inventions as well
- we can't know who invented something until we have history
- but the line between history and myth isn't very clear
- we will talk about writing more when we get to Nye ch. 1
Do patents tell us who invented something?
Lienhard tells a story from his own experience of how it is more complicated than that--the idea goes through different hands and changes
The Patent System:
- the Constitution calls for a patent system, which was put in place in 1790
- to get a patent you must prove that an idea is new and provide a complete description
- once you have a patent no one can copy your idea for 17 years without your agreement, after that the idea can be freely copied
- U.S. patent law doesn't require patents to be used (useless patents )
- patents make it possible for someone to own an idea--they
make ideas into property that can be bought and sold
| 1840 | 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 |
| 477 | 4,412 | 13,712 | 28,139 | 40,819 |
48,385 | 54,867 |
87,206 |
236,364 |
- the patent office was building a fireproof building, but the old building was not only not fireproof, but in addition the ashes from fires used to keep the offices warm were disposed of in the basement
- there was a fire station around the corner but the leather
hose turned out to have rotted and the pump didn't work
- 2004 story about recovering the 10,000 lost patents
- patent numbers were started again with number 1 after the
fire so the earlier patents are called x patents
recreated drawing for 1830 patent for
mechanical fan
