Ort: Seminarraum Forschung I (im Bibliotheksbau)
Link zur Online Teilnahme:

Beitreten Zoom Meeting:
https://zoom.us/j/7543392022?pwd=idcp61CSSfxbZPHaNZaNqpKakOngRH.1&omn=94073510221

Meeting-ID: 754 339 2022
Kenncode: 624841 

Prof. Dr. Shaul Katzir

Multiple Inventions and the nature of technological development

Abstract
Independent invention of equivalent devices or methods is a highly common phenomenon in the development of technology. Relying on empirical studies and theoretical considerations, I argue, pace criticism from different directions, that this is indeed the case, that most other inventions are part of a cumulative process, and that the frequency of genuine ‘singleton’ inventions is low. Thus, technological development is a communal process that rarely hinges on either a particular project or a specific genius. A few historical examples will illustrate the critical role of defining the object of technology, along with the means to achieve it, in its creation, and the crucial gap between a brilliant idea and a working device. Furthermore, multiples provide an advantageous comparative perspective for learning about the personal and societal aims and resources that induced inventions. Surprisingly, in many cases diverse objectives and/or means led to equivalent technologies, a fact that can be explained by my proposed characteristics of multiple inventions.
 

Short CV
I am a historian of science and technology. My interests and teaching range from ancient Greek to twentieth century science and technology in their social, philosophical, cultural and practical contexts. The focus of my research is in the history of the physical sciences and of physics-based technologies (especially those related to electricity and electronics) and their interactions in the 19th and 20th centuries. The main themes of my research include the relationships between science and technology, the role of and interactions between traditions and styles of research and their developments, theory development and choice including explanatory (molecular) theory versus phenomenological and general approach like those employing symmetry and energy, precise experimentation, measurements and measurement standards (in particular of time) and multiple inventions in technology. I examine the development of physics by looking at “mundane” fields of study like piezoelectricity and electromagnetism as well as examining more famous and revolutionary fields like relativity and early quantum theory and emergence of central principles like those of energy conservation and symmetry. 
I hold the Joseph and Ceil Mazer chair in History and Philosophy of Science at the Department for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, and the Cohn Institute.