How invention begins : echoes of old voices in the rise of new machines (edition 2006)

by John H. Lienhard

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Invention--that single leap of a human mind that gives us all we create. Yet we make a mistake when we call a telephone or a light bulb an invention, says John Lienhard. In truth, light bulbs, airplanes, steam engines--these objects are the end results, the fruits, of vast aggregates of invention. They are not invention itself. In How Invention Begins, Lienhard reconciles the ends of invention with the individual leaps upon which they are built, illuminating the vast web of individual inspirations that lie behind whole technologies. He traces, for instance, the way in which thousands of people… (more)

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Member:	MaowangVater
Title:	How invention begins : echoes of old voices in the rise of new machines
Authors:	John H. Lienhard
Info:	Oxford; Oxford University Press, 2006. ix, 277 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Collections:	Your library
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Tags:	Inventions

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How Invention Begins: Echoes of Old Voices in the Rise of New Machines by John H. Lienhard

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Interesting and informative. "Things" are not invented in a vacuum! (

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ElentarriLT | Mar 24, 2020 |

This book explains the incremental steps involved in technologies that changed the world. IT really goes to show that no idea comes from some kind of miraculous inception on its own, and that everything builds upon ideas from others. I like that it mentions the unsung heroes of the past, such as people who worked on the steam engine (and its predecessors) before James Watt, and those who worked on the printing press (as well as typefaces and other required technologies)before Gutenberg. (

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homeofharris | Oct 23, 2010 |

A fascinating study on the way technology develops. (

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MarthaJeanne | Jun 15, 2009 |

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Frederick Marriott

The Engines of Our Ingenuity

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Invention--that single leap of a human mind that gives us all we create. Yet we make a mistake when we call a telephone or a light bulb an invention, says John Lienhard. In truth, light bulbs, airplanes, steam engines--these objects are the end results, the fruits, of vast aggregates of invention. They are not invention itself. In How Invention Begins, Lienhard reconciles the ends of invention with the individual leaps upon which they are built, illuminating the vast web of individual inspirations that lie behind whole technologies. He traces, for instance, the way in which thousands of people

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