Inventions often seem to be simultaneous, as if the time had come for this problem to be recognized, and for the solution to be possible. However, I do think in

Inventions often seem to be simultaneous, as if the time had come for this problem to be recognized, and for the solution to be possible. However, I do think in some cases, a "great man" can make an invention earlier than otherwise - we should measure genius in units of time. We wouldn't be stuck in 1950 without him... but maybe we'd now be in 2018 without him. OTOH the "great man" fallacy encourages the intense and unpredictable work required for many inventions - why undermine that?