----- Original Message ----- From: "Thomas Beck" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Killer Bs Discussion" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, April 26, 2004 9:03 PM Subject: Re: Da Vinci: Inventor of Car?
> > Leonardo da Vinci is revered around the world as a master of > > Renaissance painting and an ingenious engineer, but few have thought > > of him as the father of the modern car. > > But on Friday, the Museum of History and Science in Florence -- the > > heart of Renaissance Italy -- unveiled the first "automobile" built > > based on some of the sketches from da Vinci's famous notebooks. > > > > The "automobile" -- which in fact looks more like a wagon -- is by no > > means the first invention discovered in da Vinci's mysterious > > manuscripts, which include flying machines, helicopters, submarines, > > military tanks and bicycles. > > > With all due respect to Leonardo, he "envisioned" these things, he did > not "invent" them. Just as, for example, Larry Niven dreamed up the > Puppeteers' General Products #1 Hull, but he never actually invented > one. To be fair, Leonardo did design the device, as opposed to Niven just describing his hulls. And it is possible that one was actually built by Leonardo. I recall that some of Leonardo's designs have actually been built and that they worked. IIRC a pump is the best example. How far do you have to take an idea along the road to a finished product before it could be considered an "invention"? xponent A Question Of Degrees Maru rob
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