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It always interests me how much history of science is more about personality and narrative than recorded fact.

Galileo doesn't seem to have invented the telescope so much as improved it, used it and - most of all - marketed it.

Likewise with the microscope.

A good rule of thumb seems to be that if 'everyone knows' someone invented something, it's more likely that someone else did - and no one has ever heard of them.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Sun Jun 24th, 2007 at 05:38:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]
That's called Stigler's law of eponimy, which probably wasn't first enunciated by Stigler.

Can the last politician to go out the revolving door please turn the lights off?
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Jun 24th, 2007 at 05:42:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

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