3 ms·

I remember a story (possibly anecdotal) about an inventor who shows a roman emperor a working steam engine and he basically pays him off and sends him into reti

I remember a story (possibly anecdotal) about an inventor who shows a roman emperor a working steam engine and he basically pays him off and sends him into retirement. Another account repeated by Pliny the Elder [1] and Roman courtier Petronius [2] has the emperor Tiberius execute an inventor who created a flexible drinking glass and demonstrated it to him. After the inventor successfully tested the vessel and claimed he was the only one who could replicate it, Tiberius had him beheaded because he figured such a material would make gold and silver lose value. It's hard to sustain innovation when indie hackers are paid up to shut up or basically get beheaded for building an MVP in their dorm room. Founders use to have it rough. [1] http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D36%3Achapter%3D66 http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%... [2] https://handwiki.org/wiki/Engineering:Flexible_glass https://handwiki.org/wiki/Engineering:Flexible_glass

conviencefee999 4y ago
Innovation never really came from MVPs like this to begin with, Bell Labs is what's considered the founding step to the modern world you'd be in delusion to think it was a bunch of young adults in their dorms, sure they're parents and friends may have given them the patents and ideas to do it but it was never them that did the hard work to begin with or really anything besides take credit.
- jotm 4y ago
  Sure, but somewhat lesser, but still innovation, on the Internet/WWW itself was made by young adults in their dorms. Current billionaires included. I hate myself for having been born with fucking mental problems.
narag 4y ago
I remember a story (possibly anecdotal) about an inventor who shows a roman emperor a working steam engine and he basically pays him off and sends him into retirement. That's a short story by William Golding: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Envoy_Extraordinary_(novella) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Envoy_Extraordinary_(novella)

conviencefee999 4y ago

Innovation never really came from MVPs like this to begin with, Bell Labs is what's considered the founding step to the modern world you'd be in delusion to think it was a bunch of young adults in their dorms, sure they're parents and friends may have given them the patents and ideas to do it but it was never them that did the hard work to begin with or really anything besides take credit.

jotm 4y ago
Sure, but somewhat lesser, but still innovation, on the Internet/WWW itself was made by young adults in their dorms. Current billionaires included. I hate myself for having been born with fucking mental problems.

narag 4y ago

I remember a story (possibly anecdotal) about an inventor who shows a roman emperor a working steam engine and he basically pays him off and sends him into retirement. That's a short story by William Golding: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Envoy_Extraordinary_(novella) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Envoy_Extraordinary_(novella)