Harry Veeder <hveeder...@gmail.com> wrote: Were the Wright brother keeping everything secret . . .
Yes, they were. About as secret as Rossi is, and for the same reason: intellectual property. They did not get a patent until 1906, and in 1905 they had already made improvements which they hoped to include in a new patent application. They asked people not to take close-up photos. The patent laws were somewhat different back then, and premature disclosure was more of a problem for the inventor. . . . so that your > hypothetical friends of 1905 would have told > you not to publish the details? > That is what happened. The fact that Wrights were flying was not secret to people who followed aviation, but the technical details were skimpy. The mass media did not believe a word of it. Similar circumstances have reoccurred often in modern history, but this is example is particularly close. So close it is uncanny. It often happens that people try to withhold information on scientific or technological breakthroughs. That part is not unusual. - Jed
