Re: Who do you feel was the world's greatest inventor
October 17 2005, 11:14 AM
Da Vinci was well ahead of the time. The man was clearly a genius but I wouldn't consider him the world's greatest inventer. He is probably one of the world's greatest thinkers, but didn't really put the vast majority of his ideas into action.
Martin Luther I wouldn't consider an inventor at all. He was the leader of a religious movement.
I'd go with either Thomas Edison or Archimedes. In my opinion they were the greatest inventors in their eras.
Re: Who do you feel was the world's greatest inventor
October 17 2005, 11:29 AM
Da vinci,hes better than the rest of the top 5 combined
Wouldnt ever go with edison for the simple fact that he had a massive team of engineers,scientists etc etc who were fully paid and basically did his job for him.
Bar the light bulb which he wasnt even first to invent i think he had major 'assistance' with all his other 'inventions'
Re: Who do you feel was the world's greatest inventor
October 17 2005, 12:06 PM
Da vinci,hes better than the rest of the top 5 combined
Da Vinci was more of a thinker than an inventor. He'd draw up plans for something brilliant and then never build the thing. Most of his "inventions" were never built during his lifetime.
Da Vinci was one of the world's most brilliant men, but he didn't invent all that much.
Re: Who do you feel was the world's greatest inventor
October 17 2005, 12:20 PM
'Da Vinci was more of a thinker than an inventor. He'd draw up plans for something brilliant and then never build the thing. Most of his "inventions" were never built during his lifetime.
Da Vinci was one of the world's most brilliant men, but he didn't invent all that much.'
The idea imo,is just as important as the actual invention.Look at charles babbage for example..he never actually invented the computer but he is credited with it.
Re: Who do you feel was the world's greatest inventor
October 17 2005, 1:10 PM
"The idea imo,is just as important as the actual invention.Look at charles babbage for example..he never actually invented the computer but he is credited with it."
That is debatable. There are several people credited with inventing the computer depending on who you ask. Babbage, Sir Clive Sinclair, Sir Robert Peel, Blaise Pascal, Konrad Zuse, John Mauchly, Dr. John Atanasoff, whoever invented the abacus, and Alan Turing are all variously credited.
It all depends on what you percieve as being a computer.
Even if we consider the Analytical Machine to have been a computer, it was never invented by Babbage just as Da Vinci never invented a flying machine. The Wright Brothers are credited with inventing the first airplane, but they were not the first to have concieved of the concept. They were simply the first to have made and tested a working prototype. Likewise Wernher von Braun and Hermann Oberth invented the first rockets, which were based on the work the concepts of both Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and Robbert Goddard. Invention is taking a concept and making it real.
Good discussion btw.
This message has been edited by Gyrene on Oct 17, 2005 1:27 PM This message has been edited by Gyrene on Oct 17, 2005 1:11 PM
Re: Who do you feel was the world's greatest inventor
October 17 2005, 7:30 PM
Yeh thats true gyrene,an idea is not much good if its forgotten about and never actually 'invented' but still ...if an idea is copied i think credit has to go with the guy who thought it up.One thing with babbage,is that he was just so far ahead of his time,had we harnassed the power of electricty in his time..we would have had computers.Same goes for da vinci with his 'helicopter' or sir george cayley who had fixed wing aeroplanes up in the air 80 years before clement ader or the wright brothers did.
Re: Who do you feel was the world's greatest inventor
October 17 2005, 7:42 PM
From Microsoft Encarta 2006 (emphasis is mine):
inˇvent [in vént]
(past and past participle inˇventˇed, present participle inˇventˇing, 3rd person present singular inˇvents)
transitive verb
1. create something new: to be the first to think of, make, or use something
2. make up: to make up something false such as a false excuse
invented a reason for being late
Re: Who do you feel was the world's greatest inventor
October 17 2005, 8:32 PM
1. create something new: to be the first to think of, make, or use something
The word invent can also be used with the creation of theories. Ex. Isaac Newtown invented modern physics as we know it.
The definition of invent does not necessarily imply that an inventor is always the first person to concieve of some concept. Some inventions are not things that we can physically touch, and their creation occurs only in the human mind. (hence the to think in the definition)
In common usage the word inventor is almost universally applied to the actual creator. This is why for example, men like Werner Von Braun or Hermann Oberth are credited with inventing modern rockets rather than Konstantin Tsiolkovsky or Robert Goddard.
This message has been edited by Gyrene on Oct 17, 2005 8:34 PM
Re: Who do you feel was the world's greatest inventor
October 18 2005, 2:33 PM
Most people that get the Nobel price get it for discovering scientific truths the scientists that inventd the machines that made their discoveries possible seldom get their fair share !
Re: Who do you feel was the world's greatest inventor
October 24 2005, 1:15 AM
Edison wasn't a great inventor. The man was a businessman and only understood simple arithmetic. he surrounded himself with the greatest brains of the time and mostly claimed those invention for himself. The inventions were always by Edison and his group (how much Edison contributed, nothing he only managed the scientists and he got all the recognition). This man was a despicable @sshole if you tell me. He couldn't understand AC current, since the mathematics behind was beyond his comprehension, so he attacked people Westinghouse promoting AC generators.
Well I'll agree with the first guy, Tesla was man of genius, his work on AC current allowed electricity to be fed to civilian houses. Da Vinci, Fourrier, Faraday of course also are men of genious. but each time I hear the name Edison my blood boils, old senile scum. I remember at uni I have to write an essay on Tesla AC generators(industrial) vs Edison DC generators (industrial generators an absolutely retarded concepts championed by Edison), when I started I really thought Edison a man of genius despite his little education and his stupidity about generators. But they had this old video documentary about Edison and his team. After seeing that documentary, I never respected the man again, no one invention should be credited to this senile man who exploited scientists from around the wrold. all that Edison invented was new management method of human resources (scientists) to achieve a goal (invention). I destroy Edison in my essay and back Tesla, my lecturer agreed just like anyone who've studied Edison method of work. I would go as far as saying Edison was dumb.
-------------------------------------------- We were not given dominion over the earth; our forebears earned it in their long, nightmarish struggle against creatures far stronger, swifter, and better armed than ourselves, when the terror of being ripped apart and devoured was never further away than the darkness beyond the campfire's warmth. -Darwin
This message has been edited by Eric_De_La_Legion on Oct 24, 2005 1:27 AM
at May
hi
wasent brunel a railway and bridge building engineer
(brilliant at that ) not a inventor rather a builder
of exsisting ideas ,
maybe i am totally wrong <
let me know
Re: Who do you feel was the world's greatest inventor
October 25 2005, 8:39 PM
Absolutely agree with Eryx on this, i wouldnt go as far to say that i hate Edison but i dont think any other Scientist can come close to him with regards to being credited for inventions that he didnt actually invent. Edison's "genius" works something like this; Travel to Europe and learn of new inventions, go back home to America and "Invent" these things i.e THE LIGHT BULB. Im actually giving Edison too much credit here i think afterall he didnt invent the ideas that he stole, his TEAM did!
Da Vinci, Tesla, Newton now these are men that deserve praise.
Re: Who do you feel was the world's greatest inventor
October 28 2005, 3:18 AM
Archimede, because he was almost 2000 years ahead of his time.
Then Gutemberg, Blaise Pascal, Isaac Newton, Christiaan Huyghens, Denis Papin, Alessandro Volta, Nicolas Tesla, Louis Pasteur ... Niepce, Lumičre, Marconi, Wright, Flemming ... Steeve jobs
Well, I stay with Archimede considering the extent of his very early findings and inventions. Anyone has heard about this antic clock-like mechanism which has been found in a 2000 years old ship wreck, and may be attributed to Archimede ?
NB: Too bad there's not much litterature and historical references about non-europeans inventors.
