5 ms·
Before Galileo "invented" the telescope 3 dutch people tried to patent it simultaniously. One also described (like tesla) that hé reverse engineered it from wri
by theendisney 1y ago
Before Galileo "invented" the telescope 3 dutch people tried to patent it simultaniously. One also described (like tesla) that hé reverse engineered it from writings by the ancients.
- atq2119 1y agoMany inventions simply happen when the environment is ready for them, e.g. manufacturing techniques have advanced to the point where something is possible.
- Retric 1y agoOthers get forgotten about because the funding or key manufacturing techniques don’t exist so the idea gets lost. It can be a long way from a prototype to something worth building at scale.
- theendisney 1y agoThe sadest are the useful ones that cant access their market, have some risk combined with small margins or an [initial] audience without money.
- nkrisc 1y agoNot terribly surprising, since using focused light to start fires was known to the ancients. From there, it’s not a huge leap to optics (however crude).
- analog31 1y agoAs I understand it, the Vatican astronomers called Galileo out on his claim to have invented the telescope. It didn't stop them from buying a couple of his scopes.