Reply
Fri 17 May, 2013 09:19 am
How is penicillin an invention? And what necessity does penicillin give birth to?
Do you mind making your case, please?
@oristarA,
Yea Ori, in a technical sense I guess; tho we don't usu think of development arising from discovery as invention
http://onelook.com/?w=invention&ls=a
Quote:Does "How is penicillin an invention?" sound natural? Does it make sense?
It sounds natural. It makes sense.
@InfraBlue,
So I asked my Better Half-who is much smarter than I--and she agrees most wholeheartedly with Blue above
In my own defense as an erstwhile inventor I see the process in a different light
What do you guys think when a company gets a patent on a human gene?
@oristarA,
Are you trying to make a play on the idiom: Necessity is the mother of invention.
If so, you've got the concept backwards.
@ehBeth,
ehBeth wrote:
Are you trying to make a play on the idiom: Necessity is the mother of invention.
If so, you've got the concept backwards.
Invention is often the mother of necessity, rather than vice versa。
-Jared Diamond
@oristarA,
So Jared Diamond made a play on the original idiom.
The problem is that you have to figure out when it might be appropriate to flip from the original idiom. It can't always be done. It's not a simple concept to play with.
@ehBeth,
ehBeth wrote:
So Jared Diamond made a play on the original idiom.
The problem is that you have to figure out when it might be appropriate to flip from the original idiom. It can't always be done. It's not a simple concept to play with.
Quote:Invention is often the mother of necessity, rather than vice versa。
-Jared Diamond
The best example is Apple founded by Steve Jobs.
@oristarA,
Dales is right, Fleming didn't invent penicillin, he discovered it.
@izzythepush,
Still, they also say Columbus didn't really discover America, because it was there right along. I've never understood that complaint, but I'm willin to say he just sort of found it if it makes everyone happy.
@roger,
When Fleming discovered penicillin, others weren't already using it. That's the difference.
@izzythepush,
Okay then, he just happened upon America. Not sure how that differes from a discovery, but it's fine with me.
@roger,
The difference is, when he stumbled across CUBA there were already people living there. He wasn't even the first European to discover America.
@izzythepush,
izzythepush wrote:
Dales is right, Fleming didn't invent penicillin, he discovered it.
Once again you are proving the British model of education results in individuals with a more nuanced thinking. Yes, something that naturally occurs can only be discovered. We may be re-discovering penicillin every time we throw out moldy bread. Not re-inventing it.
@roger,
roger wrote:
Still, they also say Columbus didn't really discover America, because it was there right along. I've never understood that complaint, but I'm willin to say he just sort of found it if it makes everyone happy.
So was penicillin always there. It was discovered as a way to kill bacteria. America was discovered as a new world for Europeans to spread their culture.
Selected Answer
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace