This book is about invention--where new technology comes from.  In elementary school you learn of some famous inventors, but it turns out to be more complicated than that.
Who invented the doughnut?

• there are several different stories
• might they all be true?
• if you ask who invented the principle you find still more alternatives
• this is true of more serious inventions as well

History begins with the invention of writing, by definition

• we can't know who invented something until we have history
  
• but the line between history and myth isn't very clear
• we will talk about writing more when we get to Nye ch. 1

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Do patents tell us who invented something?
Lienhard tells a story from his own experience of how it is more complicated than that--the idea goes through different hands and changes

The Patent System:

• the Constitution calls for a patent system, which was put in place in 1790
• to get a patent you must prove that an idea is new and provide a complete description 
• once you have a patent no one can copy your idea for 17 years without your agreement, after that the idea can be freely copied
• U.S. patent law doesn't require patents to be used (useless patents )
• patents make it possible for someone to own an idea--they make ideas into property that can be bought and sold
  

Number of Patents granted annually by the U.S. Patent Office (U.S. Patent Activity, 1790-1997 )

1840	1860	1880	1900	1920	1940	1960	1980	2000
477	4,412	13,712	28,139	40,819	48,385	54,867	87,206	236,364

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Patents before 1836 were lost in a fire:

• the patent office was building a fireproof building, but the old building was not only not fireproof, but in addition the ashes from fires used to keep the offices warm were disposed of in the basement
• there was a fire station around the corner but the leather hose turned out to have rotted and the pump didn't work
  
• 2004 story about recovering the 10,000 lost patents
• patent numbers were started again with number 1 after the fire so the earlier patents are called x patents