Nowadays invent simply means design something new. But what was its original meaning?
Invent is in-vent, to pump in air. Metal making is the most important technology in most of human history. The key technology to make high quality metal is to pump more air into furnace. Invent, or in-vent, becomes synonymous with important new technology. Interestingly, in Chinese, invent ( 发明 ) means make it bright.
Do today's inventions make the world pump in more air or make the world brighter? Many patents are designed to block others from entering businesses. So many of today's inventions can be more accurately called block-vent, not in-vent. |
