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Stephen wrote:However, a discovery is not an invention. Mr Flemming discovered penicillin in 1929 when he realised that green mould growing in one of his petri dishes killed all the bacteria around it. Certainly he was a great scientist, but not an inventor.
I think that the Scotsman staff do not recognise the difference, which is unfortunate. Perhaps they should have had a poll of the greatest Scottish scientific minds, with which I would have no issue. As it stands, Messrs Flemming, Watt, Maxwell and Lord Kelvin, although unquestionably great scientific minds, should not have been on the list. My choice was based on the true inventors listed.Viewmaster wrote:The Scotsman made no distinction in their listing which contained both inventors and discoverers so it is legit to pick discoverers.
Stephen wrote:I agree with Albert that medical advancement is more important than entertainment. Certainly Mr Flemming's discovery of penicillin was a great achievement that has greatly benefitted humanity.
However, a discovery is not an invention. Mr Flemming discovered penicillin in 1929 when he realised that green mould growing in one of his petri dishes killed all the bacteria around it. Certainly he was a great scientist, but not an inventor.
Mr Watt was not the first to demonstrate a working steam engine. That honour goes to Thomas Savery. However, Mr Watt developed significant improvements to the steam engine that significantly improved its usefulness. Still, the most important technological advance of steam power was probably Charles Parson's steam turbine. That is the generator of steam power that we use in modern times.
Television is not just for entertainment. It plays an important part in medical imaging, security surveillance, weather forecasting and general data display. It would not really be practical to have internet communications without the sort of instantaneous displays made possible by television. Practical radar would not have been possible without such instantaneous displays either.
Mr Baird was the first to demonstate true television, so there is no question in my mind that he invented it. The principles that he invented with respect to television imaging, from embedded synchronisation signal generation and detection, colour television of the field, line and dot sequential types and 3-D television are all used or have been used in television for medical imaging purposes to the present time.
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