10 ms·

Wilbur Wright's Letter to the Smithsonian (1899)

66 points by sethbannon 9y ago

interfixus 9y ago
"I am an enthusiast, but not a crank in the sense that I have some pet theories as to the proper construction of a flying machine" So, cranks were a wellknown commodity already in the nineteenth century. Whoever would have guessed...
- notliketherest 9y ago
  I came here to copy and paste the exact same quote. It makes me feel better when I dream up AI algorithms that I don't even know are possible or not given my limited vocabulary yet know I can go forward with any of them and learn what I don't know. We learn what we don't know, experts in fields, the specialists, rarely lead big creations. It takes someone with just enough knowledge of the various facets of their business to bring a dream / innovation to life by finding those who specialize in those facets to help build that dream.
  - interfixus 9y ago
    It is a good quote, isn't it? And very nicely stands the test of 118 years.
- davrosthedalek 9y ago
  Well, look at Goethe's color "theory" or Newton's dabbling into alchemy.
tlb 9y ago
They succeeded 4.5 years later. Their argument that birds make maneuvers 3-4x more aggressive than needed for level flight, and therefore level flight may be within the reach of man, is an intriguing one. You could make parallel arguments about AI today, for example that driving a car requires only 1/3 - 1/4 of a brainpower.
- Aloha 9y ago
  Yet we keep passing laws and performing studies that assume or find otherwise. Though I do think AI will be able to drive cars in the long term - I'm very pessimistic about the immediate short term ~5-10 years. It's not the technology that will need to get there - its the laws, and support infrastructure that makes certain assumptions about there being a human there.
- jhanschoo 9y ago
  As a function of our neurons' computing power, definitely so (c.f. humans doing math). But as a function on the energy requirements to power a biological brain, I am more doubtful; we require much better nanoscale manufacturing processes.
- mannykannot 9y ago
  One could make that argument, but we do not know at this point if it is valid, and the Wright's success does not change that.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
Gravityloss 9y ago
It's fascinating to see "behind the curtain" like this. Same with the civil rights movement etc. People know some highlighting event, but it's harder to express or celebrate the years of methodical work behind that.
finolex2 9y ago
Wilbur Wright actually hoped to enroll at Yale and become a teacher, for which he enrolled in college prep courses. All that changed when he suffered a brutal injury during an ice hockey game, following which he retreated into a long depression and eventually opened a bicycle shop in 1992.
- fruitcake 9y ago
  1892?
  - barryhoodlum 9y ago
    It was a very long depression.
    - euyyn 9y ago
      Probably the Great Depression.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
dmurray 9y ago
If like me you were wondering how the Smithsonian replied, there are links to other letters on the same page. The next one is a letter of thanks for sending certain pamphlets and recommendations, enclosing one dollar for another book.
- sailfast 9y ago
  An interesting question, though I'm wondering if the Smithsonian made duplicate copies of replies to things like these. To get the letter they sent (unless they kept the original fairly insignificant seeming administrative letter "yes sir please see enclosed") it would've had to have been kept by Wilbur.
phreeza 9y ago
Here is the book he apparently ended up ordering (in the next letter, linked to on the left): https://archive.org/details/experimentsinae01langgoog https://archive.org/details/experimentsinae01langgoog
yitchelle 9y ago
"It is only a question of knowledge and skill..." I really like this observation that Wilbur made. It's definitely part of the ethos of someone who likes a technical challenge.
demarq 9y ago
" I wish to avail myself of all that is already known and then if possible add my mite to help on the future workers who will attain final success. " I think this also says a lot about Intellectual Property right here. Just think of how todays innovation is hindered with NDAs and patent trolls.
- davrosthedalek 9y ago
  And how much is it helped by the internet and open access. The maker movement is a testament to that.
- mannykannot 9y ago
  To a large extent, other experimenters in the field at that time freely shared information. As indicated by this letter, the Wrights eagerly drank from that well, but did not reciprocate, as it was their intention to patent their achievements. If they had managed their patents with the aggressiveness that we see nowadays, early aviation development might have been stalled for a decade.
  - demarq 9y ago
    that is just so disappointing.
  - phkahler 9y ago
    >> As indicated by this letter, the Wrights eagerly drank from that well, but did not reciprocate, as it was their intention to patent their achievements. From the letter we can see that they did not expect to succeed but only hoped to contribute. From what I've read they really got a rude awakening to the ways of the business world after they invented something of significant value. I am in the odd position of agreeing with you and also thinking they deserved the patent and everything they could get from it. It was not a trivial achievement and involved a number of unique innovations and challenges to the published wisdom.
    - mannykannot 9y ago
      I agree that the Wrights deserved to be rewarded handsomely for their achievements, but so too do the others who made important contributions afterwards, though perhaps not to the same extent. The issue of the fair reward for innovation still has no satisfactory solution to this day. The Wrights also had to fight with the Smithsonian over their historical legacy, with the result that the original Flyer was displayed in London's Science Museum for many years, where its significance was properly recognized.
ChuckMcM 9y ago
And isn't it great that the Smithsonian did NOT reply "We have found 14 articles related to your letter, here are the titles, you can rent them for $15.95 each for a week or we will print them out and send them too you for $56.00 each. Please let us know which ones you want."
blizkreeg 9y ago
The part that stood out for me was: "I am about to begin a systematic study of the subject in preparation for practical work to which I expect to devote what time I can spare from my regular business."

66 points by sethbannon 9y ago

"I am an enthusiast, but not a crank in the sense that I have some pet theories as to the proper construction of a flying machine" So, cranks were a wellknown commodity already in the nineteenth century. Whoever would have guessed...

notliketherest 9y ago
I came here to copy and paste the exact same quote. It makes me feel better when I dream up AI algorithms that I don't even know are possible or not given my limited vocabulary yet know I can go forward with any of them and learn what I don't know. We learn what we don't know, experts in fields, the specialists, rarely lead big creations. It takes someone with just enough knowledge of the various facets of their business to bring a dream / innovation to life by finding those who specialize in those facets to help build that dream.
- interfixus 9y ago
  It is a good quote, isn't it? And very nicely stands the test of 118 years.
davrosthedalek 9y ago
Well, look at Goethe's color "theory" or Newton's dabbling into alchemy.

tlb 9y ago

They succeeded 4.5 years later. Their argument that birds make maneuvers 3-4x more aggressive than needed for level flight, and therefore level flight may be within the reach of man, is an intriguing one. You could make parallel arguments about AI today, for example that driving a car requires only 1/3 - 1/4 of a brainpower.

Aloha 9y ago
Yet we keep passing laws and performing studies that assume or find otherwise. Though I do think AI will be able to drive cars in the long term - I'm very pessimistic about the immediate short term ~5-10 years. It's not the technology that will need to get there - its the laws, and support infrastructure that makes certain assumptions about there being a human there.
jhanschoo 9y ago
As a function of our neurons' computing power, definitely so (c.f. humans doing math). But as a function on the energy requirements to power a biological brain, I am more doubtful; we require much better nanoscale manufacturing processes.
mannykannot 9y ago
One could make that argument, but we do not know at this point if it is valid, and the Wright's success does not change that.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

Gravityloss 9y ago

It's fascinating to see "behind the curtain" like this. Same with the civil rights movement etc. People know some highlighting event, but it's harder to express or celebrate the years of methodical work behind that.

finolex2 9y ago

Wilbur Wright actually hoped to enroll at Yale and become a teacher, for which he enrolled in college prep courses. All that changed when he suffered a brutal injury during an ice hockey game, following which he retreated into a long depression and eventually opened a bicycle shop in 1992.

fruitcake 9y ago
1892?
- barryhoodlum 9y ago
  It was a very long depression.
  - euyyn 9y ago
    Probably the Great Depression.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

dmurray 9y ago

If like me you were wondering how the Smithsonian replied, there are links to other letters on the same page. The next one is a letter of thanks for sending certain pamphlets and recommendations, enclosing one dollar for another book.

sailfast 9y ago
An interesting question, though I'm wondering if the Smithsonian made duplicate copies of replies to things like these. To get the letter they sent (unless they kept the original fairly insignificant seeming administrative letter "yes sir please see enclosed") it would've had to have been kept by Wilbur.

phreeza 9y ago

Here is the book he apparently ended up ordering (in the next letter, linked to on the left): https://archive.org/details/experimentsinae01langgoog https://archive.org/details/experimentsinae01langgoog

yitchelle 9y ago

"It is only a question of knowledge and skill..." I really like this observation that Wilbur made. It's definitely part of the ethos of someone who likes a technical challenge.

demarq 9y ago

" I wish to avail myself of all that is already known and then if possible add my mite to help on the future workers who will attain final success. " I think this also says a lot about Intellectual Property right here. Just think of how todays innovation is hindered with NDAs and patent trolls.

davrosthedalek 9y ago
And how much is it helped by the internet and open access. The maker movement is a testament to that.
mannykannot 9y ago
To a large extent, other experimenters in the field at that time freely shared information. As indicated by this letter, the Wrights eagerly drank from that well, but did not reciprocate, as it was their intention to patent their achievements. If they had managed their patents with the aggressiveness that we see nowadays, early aviation development might have been stalled for a decade.
- demarq 9y ago
  that is just so disappointing.
- phkahler 9y ago
  >> As indicated by this letter, the Wrights eagerly drank from that well, but did not reciprocate, as it was their intention to patent their achievements. From the letter we can see that they did not expect to succeed but only hoped to contribute. From what I've read they really got a rude awakening to the ways of the business world after they invented something of significant value. I am in the odd position of agreeing with you and also thinking they deserved the patent and everything they could get from it. It was not a trivial achievement and involved a number of unique innovations and challenges to the published wisdom.
  - mannykannot 9y ago
    I agree that the Wrights deserved to be rewarded handsomely for their achievements, but so too do the others who made important contributions afterwards, though perhaps not to the same extent. The issue of the fair reward for innovation still has no satisfactory solution to this day. The Wrights also had to fight with the Smithsonian over their historical legacy, with the result that the original Flyer was displayed in London's Science Museum for many years, where its significance was properly recognized.

ChuckMcM 9y ago

And isn't it great that the Smithsonian did NOT reply "We have found 14 articles related to your letter, here are the titles, you can rent them for $15.95 each for a week or we will print them out and send them too you for $56.00 each. Please let us know which ones you want."

blizkreeg 9y ago

The part that stood out for me was: "I am about to begin a systematic study of the subject in preparation for practical work to which I expect to devote what time I can spare from my regular business."