How invention begins : echoes of old voices in the rise of new machines. John H. Lienhard.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 243-259) and index.

Priority and apriority. Ötzi and silent beginnings -- The unrelenting presence of priority -- I built my airplane before the Wright brothers did -- Steam and speed. Inventing steam: "Alles was Odem hat" -- From steam to steam engine -- From steam engine to thermodynamics -- Inventing speed -- Inventive motivation and exponential change -- Writing and showing. Inventing Gutenberg -- From Gutenberg to a newly literate world: gestation to cradle to maturation -- Inventing means for illustrating reality -- Fast presses, cheap books, and ghosts of old readers -- Views through a wider lens. Inventing education: the great equalizer -- The arc of invention: finding finished forms.