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"While some of us can name the inventor of the light bulb, does anybody know who invented the iPhone?" The iPhone is not an invention. Its an iteration.

k-mcgrady 12y ago
It's a composite of many inventions. Some were developed by Apple others were developer many years ago by others teams/people.
- dmritard96 12y ago
  so everything is an invention? I tend to think of an invention as the class, not the object. And by class, I mean a fairly abstract one, the iphone is an implementation. Also, not sure why original comment was downvoted...
  - k-mcgrady 12y ago
    NB: Not sure why you were down voted, it was a perfectly valid comment. I agree with you. I guess I'm just giving the author a little credit: I think he understands the iPhone itself isn't an invention but that things like multi-touch displays were invented to make it possible. They didn't just take available parts and put them together, they had to invent stuff which would come together to create something. The comparison to the bulb is unfair as that is a 'simple' object (it does one thing, has one function).
tormeh 12y ago
Yeah, the smartphone was not such a big leap as it's made out to be. It was mainly UI. I used to have a Sony Ericsson dumbphone and I had Opera Mini and Google Maps on it. I ordered train tickets online with that phone.
- jjoonathan 12y ago
  It was as big a leap in UI as it's made out to be.
malandrew 12y ago
The light bulb was also an iteration, and no Edison was not the inventor. Humphrey Davy (1802) was (or Warren de la Rue (1840) if you count the inclusion of a bulb as a necessary distinguishing feature), and at least 22 people contributed to iterations on the idea before Edison and Swan commercialized it. Edison contributed a lot to the iterations that made incandescent light, phonographs and video production possible, but he certainly was not the sole inventor that people make him out to be. He was basically the first Steve Jobs. Shrewd business person, yes. Iterator, yes. Sole inventor, no. IMHO the myth of the sole inventor is one of the most destructive/unproductive notions I've encountered since it gives some very smart people the false impression that not only do they not need to work cooperatively with others, but that they might even be hindered by working with anyone not equally as brilliant as themselves. It's a myth that produces a toxic attitude that squanders the talents of some of the most talented. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_light_bulb#History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_light_bulb#History

k-mcgrady 12y ago

It's a composite of many inventions. Some were developed by Apple others were developer many years ago by others teams/people.

dmritard96 12y ago
so everything is an invention? I tend to think of an invention as the class, not the object. And by class, I mean a fairly abstract one, the iphone is an implementation. Also, not sure why original comment was downvoted...
- k-mcgrady 12y ago
  NB: Not sure why you were down voted, it was a perfectly valid comment. I agree with you. I guess I'm just giving the author a little credit: I think he understands the iPhone itself isn't an invention but that things like multi-touch displays were invented to make it possible. They didn't just take available parts and put them together, they had to invent stuff which would come together to create something. The comparison to the bulb is unfair as that is a 'simple' object (it does one thing, has one function).

tormeh 12y ago

Yeah, the smartphone was not such a big leap as it's made out to be. It was mainly UI. I used to have a Sony Ericsson dumbphone and I had Opera Mini and Google Maps on it. I ordered train tickets online with that phone.

jjoonathan 12y ago
It was as big a leap in UI as it's made out to be.

malandrew 12y ago

The light bulb was also an iteration, and no Edison was not the inventor. Humphrey Davy (1802) was (or Warren de la Rue (1840) if you count the inclusion of a bulb as a necessary distinguishing feature), and at least 22 people contributed to iterations on the idea before Edison and Swan commercialized it. Edison contributed a lot to the iterations that made incandescent light, phonographs and video production possible, but he certainly was not the sole inventor that people make him out to be. He was basically the first Steve Jobs. Shrewd business person, yes. Iterator, yes. Sole inventor, no. IMHO the myth of the sole inventor is one of the most destructive/unproductive notions I've encountered since it gives some very smart people the false impression that not only do they not need to work cooperatively with others, but that they might even be hindered by working with anyone not equally as brilliant as themselves. It's a myth that produces a toxic attitude that squanders the talents of some of the most talented. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_light_bulb#History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_light_bulb#History