The Caprice of Science: A History of Simultaneous Discoveries

Would you believe me if I said Darwin wasn't the only one thinking about evolution? It sounds unbelievable, but Graham Bell and Elisha Gray were the ones who invented the telephone. In fact, not only did they invent it at the exact same time, but their patent applications were filed just hours apart, and Alexander Graham Bell went down in history as the inventor of the telephone. Newton and Leibniz independently invented differential and integral calculus. This list just goes on and on. So, do you think this is possible? This is not an isolated incident in the world; in fact, in the history of science and sociology, it is called a multiple discovery or simultaneous invention. According to sociologists, discoveries rely not only on individual genius, but also on the era's accumulated knowledge, technological infrastructure, and cultural environment. When the ground is ripe, it becomes inevitable for independent minds to reach the same conclusion. While some end in rivalry, others can conclude in cooperation. For example, Newton and Leibniz engaged in a years-long priority dispute, but it was later concluded that both had developed it independently. Although Newton argued he had developed the method earlier, Leibniz was the first to publish it. The symbols currently used in differential and integral calculus also belong to Leibniz. Good thing he published first, because Newton's symbols were quite complicated. Of course, examples like this in history are countless. Did you think Edison was the only one who invented the light bulb? No, Edison and Swan invented it at the same time. In fact, to avoid copyright issues, they joined forces and founded a company called Ediswan. Although Darwin began working on evolution and natural selection in the 1830s, far away in Southeast Asia, a young naturalist named Alfred Russel Wallace was also working on natural selection. In 1845, Le Verrier and Adams discovered the planet Neptune. In 1869, both Mendeleyev and Meyer created the periodic table. Oxygen gas was discovered by Scheele and Priestley two years apart, in 1772 and 1774. In 1886, aluminum was independently produced by Hall and Heroult. Coming to the year 1905, Einstein, Lorentz, and Poincaré were all working on the theory of relativity. In 1925, Heisenberg and Schrödinger were independently working on quantum mechanics. In 1929, ATP, the fundamental energy molecule of the cell, was discovered both by the Fiske-Subbarow team in America and Karl Lohmann in Germany. Isn't this fascinating? Don't forget to like, share, and follow for more videos in the "Things I Learned From Books" series!