Don't worry, Tom- you are in good company...

Off Topic » in reply to ;Who was it that wanted to close the Patent Office about a hundred years ago because "everything had been invented?" '

Don't worry, Tom- you are in good company...

R.L. — 10/23/2005 7:21:12 AM (archived)

Apparently, in 1899 the fella who ran the patent office in the United States, Charles H Duell, tried to close it down as he thought that everything had already been invented. This didn't come from my exhaustive research, but actually from Bill Gates's autobiography - and who am I to argue with the billionaire speccy-four-eyes?

from The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1433253,00.html

Ronald Reagan also repeated this claim in a 1986 speech.

It is interesting how lies spread far faster than fiction.

The whole thread (44 posts)

Is the Party coming to an end? - LJK - 10/19/2005 2:49:53 PM
- re: When the lights will go out - Raoul - 10/19/2005 8:48:45 PM
  - Eating less is good. - Lee - 10/23/2005 6:18:19 AM
    - Please tell me how you've done it! - Scott Evil - 10/24/2005 2:09:09 PM
    - Not bad at all - Daniel - 10/24/2005 1:50:43 PM
    - Under 1,000 calories for a grown-up??? - Mary Anne - 10/23/2005 6:42:44 PM
      - I'm eating well, just small amounts. - Lee - 10/23/2005 8:34:52 PM
        
        add some protein calories - FrankC - 10/24/2005 5:11:39 PM
        
        Low caloric intake may not be so bad. - Lee - 10/24/2005 7:16:38 PM
        
        **post deleted** - Mary Anne (moderator) - 10/24/2005 2:09:42 PM
        
        It's true that portion control is our downfall. - Mary Anne - 10/24/2005 1:47:28 AM
        
        BTW - Lee - 10/23/2005 8:43:56 PM
        
        Ah.. - FrankC - 10/24/2005 5:23:21 PM
    - Do us a favour? - Nick Hoffman - 10/23/2005 1:50:26 PM
      - you sicko (n/t) - Scott Evil - 10/24/2005 2:06:23 PM
        
        Hey! 18 is legit! - Mary Anne - 10/24/2005 2:11:37 PM
        
        ;) and fun (n/t) - :) - 10/24/2005 3:30:14 PM
        
        Not as much fun as the older ones. - Tom Brosz - 10/24/2005 10:33:48 PM
        
        I'm with you and Ben Franklin on this one Tom - FrankC - 10/25/2005 5:08:25 AM
        
        re: I'm with you and Ben Franklin on this one Tom - REB - 10/25/2005 2:46:28 PM
  - Obesity in the US is an epidemic - Bowser - 10/19/2005 8:56:17 PM
- Sounds like the predictions from the Club of Rome back in 1972 - Larry J - 10/19/2005 7:22:39 PM
  - Don't forget about tar sand and oil shale. - Lee - 10/23/2005 6:32:16 AM
  - linear metathinking - Robert - 10/20/2005 5:57:07 PM
    - You're not actually comparing us to dinosaurs I hope - Lee - 10/23/2005 6:24:40 AM
    - Just making a simple point - Tom Brosz - 10/22/2005 7:50:23 AM
    - And lest we forget... - Mary Anne - 10/21/2005 12:55:27 PM
    - re: linear metathinking - LJK - 10/20/2005 6:41:50 PM
  - Such predictions go back a long way. - Tom Brosz - 10/19/2005 7:38:57 PM
    - ;Who was it that wanted to close the Patent Office about a hundred years ago because "everything had been invented?" ' - R.L. - 10/23/2005 6:53:18 AM
      - Don't worry, Tom- you are in good company... - R.L. - 10/23/2005 7:21:12 AM
        
        Shows what happens when I don't bother to look something up. - Tom Brosz - 10/23/2005 4:55:07 PM
        
        And hidden effects in industries we think of as traditional. - Mary Anne - 10/23/2005 6:10:15 PM
        
        re: And hidden effects in industries we think of as traditional. - Tom Brosz - 10/24/2005 9:08:29 PM
        
        Agreed. - Mary Anne - 10/25/2005 12:51:48 PM
        
        Diversity - Tom Brosz - 10/26/2005 12:28:47 AM
        
        And with food irradiation... - Larry J - 10/25/2005 5:36:04 PM
    - I believe there is a reason for everything. - Eri - 10/20/2005 2:18:40 AM
- Undoubtedly - McFly - 10/19/2005 5:30:59 PM
  - Looking for the reasons for our current behavior - LJK - 10/19/2005 5:49:26 PM
    - "Natural selection drives evolution?" - Tom Brosz - 10/19/2005 7:26:39 PM
      - re: "Natural selection drives evolution?" - LJK - 10/20/2005 4:16:32 PM
        
        I bought the concept of natural selection after the finches. - Tom Brosz - 10/20/2005 4:28:28 PM
        
        UCSD Study Shows 'Junk' DNA Has Evolutionary Importance - LJK - 10/21/2005 1:08:11 PM

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The whole thread (44 posts)