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This was really interesting. I've always viewed the Wrights as "hobbyists" or "tinkerers" - but now I'm going to have to do some research on their lives. If the
by LyndsySimon 7y ago
This was really interesting. I've always viewed the Wrights as "hobbyists" or "tinkerers" - but now I'm going to have to do some research on their lives. If the impression I got from that article is remotely accurate, they were engineers. It seems almost insulting to call them "bicycle makers".
- ARandomerDude 7y agoI'm guessing it's a marketing pitch from the era. The "bicycle makers" narrative sells better than "two smart guys did something smart."
- sveit 7y agoCheck out the book The Wright Brothers by David McCullough[1]. You will see that they are anything but tinkerers, but more the founders of aeronautical engineering. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Wright-Brothers-David-McCullough/dp/1476728755 https://www.amazon.com/Wright-Brothers-David-McCullough/dp/1...
- mohaine 7y agoBut don't forget that they also threatened to hold the entire aircraft industry hostage with a overly broad patent and then spent years trying to rewrite history so they got most if not all of the credit. Even their gift of their flyer to the Smithsonian came with strings attached about how the Smithsonian could frame other developments at the time. http://www.wright-brothers.org/History_Wing/History_of_the_Airplane/Doers_and_Dreamers/Wright_Smithsonian_Controversy/00_Wright_Smithsonian_Controversy_Intro.htm http://www.wright-brothers.org/History_Wing/History_of_the_A...
- petermcneeley 7y agoBut by formal education they were zeros. The person on the opposite end of that spectrum would be Kelvin who deemed heavier than air flight impossible.