Comment by gcanyon

12 days ago

> The invention of the "airplane" is just a simplified term for "controlled and sustained powered flight"

Maybe? But most people think of it as "invented the airplane," and the two terms have different connotations in common use. Likewise, the title here says "television," not "real-time capture, transmission, and display of moving images" -- and similarly, I think the terms have different connotations.

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gcanyon

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WalterBright  12 days ago

People who do not have a technical education tend to have a less precise definition of things. There's not a great deal of point to arguing semantics.

There were precursors to Edison's light bulb, and people use that to denigrate Edison's achievement. But the technical reality of the Edison bulb is his bulb was practical, and the precursors were just curiosities.

  • gcanyon  11 days ago

    > Edison

    Sure, and (as far as I know) Edison's basic pattern at discovery was much the same as what we use today (less so these days obviously):

       1. Fill a sealed container with non-reactive gas or vacuum 
   2. String something conductive and heat-tolerant through it
   3. Run enough current through it to make the thing glow

    I think the same can be said for the Wright brothers -- perhaps less so for the reasons I gave previously.

    I think a system that involves mechanical elements is farther from what most people think of when they think "TV"