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Despite modern techniques being superior, I share the sentiment of the author that the lost knowledge is something to be mourned. Even though that process would
by BitwiseFool 4y ago
Despite modern techniques being superior, I share the sentiment of the author that the lost knowledge is something to be mourned. Even though that process wouldn't be used in a rocket today, it is possible that technique could have inspired a breakthrough for some other new process. Like how Gorilla glass, originally developed in the 1960's, was seen as a dead-end and largely useless, until the iPhone was being designed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorilla_Glass https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorilla_Glass
- HyperSane 4y agoWe didn't lose the knowledge of making chemically hardened glass. It just didn't have a lot of uses until everyone had touch screen cell phones that needed to be scratch resistant.
- pfdietz 4y agoPatents are supposed to document inventions well enough that they can be reproduced. But I wonder if the background knowledge can decay enough that this stops being true. And I wonder if enough decay occurs, could things that were previously unpatentable for obviousness now become patentable again?