Do you sometimes doubt your idea? Do you hear things like "what’s the point?" or "this will never catch on"? don’t let that stop you from continuing your development. True: there are inventions that actually do not catch on. But history is also full of misjudgments by knowledgeable contemporaries about inventions that later became international successes.
Edison’s light bulb was initially underestimated
At the 1878 world’s fair in paris, thomas alva edison illuminated the avenue de l’opera and the place de l’opera with electric light for the first time. But what was said oxford professor erasmus wilson plus? "when the paris world’s fair is over, the electric light will go out and we’ll never hear about it again". And when edison applied for a patent for his version of the light bulb in the u.s. at the end of 1879, he had to read about it in the newspaper: "anyone familiar with it will recognize that mr. edison’s incandescent light bulb is a clear failure" – by, of all people, henry morton, himself a scientist and then president of the stevens institute of technology, one of the oldest technical universities in the u.s. But it was edison’s version that made mass production and the use of electric light in everyday life possible – after many had already tried it beforehand.
The automobile – a success with many forefathers
Even the invention of the automobile was by no means immediately recognized by all as a success. In 1903, for example, the president of the michigan savings bank advised henry ford’s lawyer against investing in ford’s automobile company: "the horse will always exist. cars are only a passing fad." a similar quote is also attributed to emperor wilhelm II, but this is probably not true. That even car pioneers could not have imagined what would become of them is shown by gottlieb daimler’s statement in 1901 that the worldwide demand for motor vehicles would not exceed one million – "if only for lack of available chauffeurs."
The history of the automobile would never have been possible, of course, without the invention of the wheel previously. And this shows that an idea also needs the right environment to become a success. The wheel is said to have already been used by ancient american peoples like the mayas and the aztecs would have been known, but they did not use it as a means of transportation. Presumably, this was due to the fact that there were no suitable draught animals. And the persian-arabic-berberian cultural area is supposed to transport of goods on wheels have even given up again. Because for the transport with the camel it was not necessary to maintain roads.
The car would also have been nothing without the internal combustion engine. As late as 1806, the russian academy of sciences in st. Petersburg: "petroleum is a useless secretion of the earth – a sticky liquid that stinks and can in no way be used." products from this were mostly used for lighting – the canadian doctor and geologist abraham gesner applied for a patent in 1855, which is considered the beginning of petroleum processing.
Flying – impossible?
Many learned contemporaries were also skeptical about the airplane. William thompson, the first baron kelvin and himself a physicist, did not think flying machines heavier than air were possible. He is quoted as saying that he has not the slightest belief "in any other kind of aviation than that by balloon. the canadian-american mathematician simon newcomb was of the same opinion: "to fly through the air with machines is absolutely impossible". they had to be taught better by the brothers wilbur and orville wright. The latter were not misled by the distinguished scientists and reported their flying machine 1903 to patent to. The rest is history.
Talking actors undesirable?
Even the modern entertainment industry knows such misconceptions. The successful director D.W. Griffith, who founded united artists with charlie chaplin and others, published an article in 1924 in which he sketched out a vision of cinematography 100 years from now. Talking actors were not part of it. And harry warner was certainly open to music from the tape instead of a live orchestra. This would save the cinemas a lot of money. But "who wants to hear actors speak?", he is said to have said. The warner brothers took a chance and invested in the new technology – they presented a film about a jazz singer who can then be heard singing. And griffith later made sound films himself.
The the development of the sound film is the result of many stages of technical development coined. Among the pioneers were the swedish sven berglund, the polish engineer jozef tykocinski-tykociner and the german sound engineers hans vogt, joseph massolle and joseph benedict engl. The laboratory of the latter three, who jointly developed the process as "tri-ergon", was located in babelsberger strabe in berlin. The fact that a sound film poses different challenges for actors is another story.
The computer for the school bag
in times of the smartphone, the format and performance of the first pocket calculator might seem a bit meager. But the integrated circuit on a semiconductor, which the young physicist jack kilby designed in 1958, is considered the basis for the microchip.
His employer, texas instruments, could not really do anything with it for a long time. Together with colleagues, kilby therefore designed the first pocket calculator and presented the "cal tech" to the director in 1967. It is said to have had the format of a dictionary and to have weighed one kilo, but it could be powered by batteries.
The head of texas instruments did not recognize the potential at first, but made mass production possible at a Japanese company. First texas instruments launched its own pocket calculators in 1972. Today, almost every schoolchild probably remembers "his" model. And kilby, together with two others, received the nobel prize in physics in 2000 for the development of the integrated circuit.
almost at the same time as jack kilby, the physicist robert noyce came up with a similar idea. There were therefore legal and patent disputes. Later, he and a partner founded the company intel. He was not considered for the nobel prize in 2000 because he had already died in 1990.
Who needs a computer at home?
Also the first computer were known to be much larger, but nowhere near as powerful as today’s examples, which severely limited their use. "i think there is a world market for maybe five computers", thomas watson, head of IBM, He may have said the same thing in 1943, even if there is no written record of it. And his ambition was certainly greater, too – and rightly so, as history shows. "there is no reason why anyone should have a computer at home", ken olsen, founder of digital equipment, is quoted as saying that in 1977. However, his employees already had plans for it. Another prominent misjudgement comes from microsoft CEO steve ballmer: the iphone will not sell very well.
the dowel, the handyman’s best friend
But it doesn’t always have to be electronics. In 1958, the swabian artur fischer invented the spreading dowel and patented the model. Because no one believed him, he is even said to have a car screwed to the wall have.
Today, any minimally talented hobbyist can use them to securely fasten pictures, shelves or lamps to the wall. There is no noble prize for such a thing, but there is constant commercial success. Fischer marketed his inventions in his own company, and the small, cheap plastic part made him rich thanks to the mass sold.
So whatever you’re working on, don’t be discouraged. In the history of innovation, there have often been misjudgments and misinterpretations – later prominent inventions have had their doubters. However, history also shows that often similar ideas at the same time came up. Filing a patent application was often an important step in later deriving financial benefit from the invention.