Talk:List of inventors

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[edit] Theodore Nelson

Inventor of hypertext.

[edit] Linus Torvalds

Is Torvalds appropriate to put here? He didn't invent the concept of the kernel/operating system, he just created his own one. Dysprosia 08:09, 19 Oct 2003 (UTC)

[edit] Claude Shannon

Does Claude Shannon belong here? He was a scientist whose research led to various inventions, but he didn't invent anything himself, as far as I know. The invention this page attributes to him is "information theory". If we count that, why not also "theory of evolution", and all other new bodies of scientific knowledge? What about Crick & Watson, who discovered the double-helix structure of the DNA molecule? What about Halley, who "invented" Halley's comet? That would eliminate any distinction between invention and scientific discovery, and it would also mean that most of those who should be on this list are not. 134.84.86.74 21:51, 13 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Well, it depends on your definition of invention. I think (but haven't checked his papers) he came up with several very important mathmatical equations. Once could claim that these were discoveries, rather than inventions. DNA is certainly a discovery, Evolution is probably more of a discovery as well, but these are both less concrete than a set of equations. I'd say equations are less concrete than a physical object, or even the blueprint for a physical object, but some equations could certainly be inventions; natural laws and limits, I'm not so sure. -- Akb4 23:19, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Jet Engine

Hans von Ohain -- co-founder of the jet engine
Frank Whittle, (1907-1996) -- co-inventor of the jet engine

Actually, they only improved the jet engine, not invent it, so they should not be on this list. The jet engine was invented by Henri Coandă. Bogdan 22:19, 13 Dec 2003 (UTC)

That depends largely on what you define as "jet engine", of course... Coanda's engine, while immensely innovative and unique, was not the direct ancestor of what most people today would think of as a "jet engine" in the way that Whittle's and Ohain's engines are... --Rlandmann 02:33, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Barry Ethridge

Removed text:

*Barry Ethridge - High-Speed Data communications via Optical Fiber, amongst others

This was an autobiographical entry, by someone who seems unencyclopedic. The article is listed on VfD, with no votes to keep so far except my formal one requesting we talk to him first. Andrewa 01:21, 17 Dec 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Wankel

Is Felix Wankel suitable to be in here? (unsigned)

Definately. -- Akb4 23:19, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Asselbergs

I have removed the entry for Edward A. Asselbergs, as per discussion on WP:RD. Briefly, it appears that several patents for industrial processes for producing instant mashed potato flakes predate Mr. Asselbergs's patent for a particular improved process. The flakes themselves may date back to prehistory. — Pekinensis 00:48, 3 August 2005 (UTC)

More details are available at Instant mashed potato. — Pekinensis 02:11, 3 August 2005 (UTC)

So why isn't the particular improved method an invention? I mean, it may not be an invention that many people think is important, but neither are Rubber Bandits... Maybe we need a taxonomy of inventors; millions of patents have been issued, but people like Isaac Newton, Edison, Tesla, and so on are clearly more significant than Clarence Birdseye, Samuel Colt, etc. Which is not to diminish anyone's accomplishments, but there are a couple of axis' here: number of inventions and importance of inventions are two that come to mind immediately, but they involve those nasty subjective values like "importance". -- Akb4 23:33, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Slightly confused part 1 and 2

These are some of the names from the list that I’m confused about. Have they really invented anything?

Tsaddik Dervish 07:04, 5 August 2005 (UTC)

  • Removed my own (very) long list of examples. --Tsaddik Dervish 19:27, 4 September 2005 (UTC)
Quite a few names really do not belong here. Please feel free to correct them, adding explanation. Problem of this list is that the names are added in chaotic manner over long time. Pavel Vozenilek 01:08, 7 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] The strange case of Mr. Graham Bell

"In June 2002, Meucci was officially credited by the United States House of Representatives with the invention of the telephone, instead of Alexander Graham Bell." Sorry guys, but Graham Bell has no place there, I'm amazed that he appears instead of Meucci. (unsigned)

I'm far from clear that an independant inventor is not an inventor; just because two people independantly devise something doesn't make one of them less of an innovator. Someone will probably claim that the order of discovery, issuance of patents, or effect on dissemination of an invention matters, but I fail to see how, for example, Konrad Zuse's invention of some key computer technologies which virtually no-one heard of at the time in any way invalidates the independant invention of those same technologies by the ENIAC group. Both are inventors; if someone wants to start the list of Successful inventors, first to patent inventors, etc., go ahead...
That said, there's the whole Elisha Grey controversy, but since Bell also invented the metal detector (and probably other things), he belongs on the list anyway. -- Akb4 23:19, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Arthur Paul Pedrick

User:DonSiano removed my addition of Arthur Pedrick, citing it as vandalism. The addition is not vandalism, despite the unusual name of his prime invention. He is a real person, as a review of the article on him and a search on any respectable search engine will show.

Basically, all his inventions were crazy, but he's important and well known enough to warrant inclusion on this list. GDallimore 19:16, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Celebrity Patents

So is there any rom anywhere on wikipedia for an overview of celebrity inventors or inventions? To me, this is informative, but i'm not sure about everybody else. Comments? Bib 23:06, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Bill Gates

Invented windows... how? he created it but didnt invent/find it.

[edit] What this page is for

This page is for listing inventors of significant inventions. It is not for listing scientific or mathematical discoveries for scientists, regardless of how famous or significant the discoveries may be. Nor can it be for any old patent that the author wants to have immortalized by listing it in wikipedia. The US patent office grants about 500 patents per day--they cannot all be listed on this page, which should therefore be restricted to notable inventions that were commercialized and have been noted in references such as other encyclopedias, histories of technology and such. Strange, or funny half-baked ideas of cranks don't belong here either. This is an encyclopedia, not a book of humor.DonSiano 12:45, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

The title of the article is "List of inventors", not "list of inventions" or "list of notable inventions". I agree that one requirement for inclusion could be good inventions where notability of the inventor is otherwise patchy, but primarily this is a list about notable inventors. Hence my restoring Pedrick to the list - he is well-known to every patent attorney in the (my) country and has had several notable mentions in various publications on the Internet and the printed press, some of which are listed in his article. He is notable BECAUSE he created "wacky" inventions that explored the boundaries of patent law - his chromatic cat-flap patent, for example, also included information about using nuclear weapons to ensure world peace which meant it had national security issues.
Remeber, just because you don't know or understand why a particular inventor is notable, doesn't mean he is not notable. WP:NOTE#Notability_is_not_subjective. GDallimore (Talk) 09:31, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Lightbulb

Last I heard Canadian Henry Woodward invented the "commercially practical" lightbulb, but sold the patent to Thomas Edison. So should the actual inventor or the patent holder recieve credit? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Marshmello (talk • contribs) 12:49, 12 April 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Al-Razi

I'm challenging the claim that Rhazes (which actually links to Al-Razi) "invented" alcohol. I know there is wine jugs found that predate this time period, and that the Egyptians invented beer far before this time. I've commented it out until we can solve this discussion. Imasleepviking 19:36, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

I changed it to al-Razi and put it back, listing "distillation and extraction methods; sulfuric acid and alcohol". I agree we need to clarify what his discovery was, relative to alcohol especially. Was he the first to purify it as a substance independent of wine, perhaps? Dicklyon 20:55, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
Here's a book that says he was first use alcohol as an antiseptic. Maybe that's the invention? Dicklyon 20:58, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
Nothing I can find on the internet says he had anything to do with alcohol. That certainly doesn't mean he didn't do anything with it but I'm skeptical of the claim in general. I think we're better off just keeping it as he invented a means to create sulfuric acid. Imasleepviking 21:04, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
Here's another interesting bit about the invention of alcohol. I recommend a book search, rather than looking "on the internet" for reliable sources. It seems he is sometimes credited with the invention of distillation techniques, which are used both for alcohol and for aqua fortis (strong sulfuric acid). Dicklyon 21:17, 6 June 2007 (UTC)