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SUMMARY:Inventing Wartime Invention: The Royal Commission on Awards to Inv
 entors and Criteria for “Merit” in WWI Technology - Aristotle Vainikos
  (Lady Margaret Hall\, Oxford)
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250313T123000Z
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250313T140000Z
UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/4aafbdbf-e58e-4c88-b7a0-7e31247953ad/
DESCRIPTION:From 1919 to 1932 in Britain\, the Royal Commission on Awards 
 to Inventors compensated private inventors of valuable WWI technologies. T
 his paper asks what characteristics of invention mattered for the Commissi
 on’s judgments on merit. I find that they understood invention as a prob
 lem-solving process comprising both theoretical and empirical work –desc
 ribing the _ideal solution_ using known theorems\, building a _physical im
 itation_ by updating known devices\, then _iterating_ the prototype based 
 on user feedback. Meritorious inventors presented either a novel solution 
 or means of implementation\; they also supervised iteration through to dep
 loyment. While partially similar to existing ideas about “inventor-entre
 preneurs”\, the Commission’s thought displays original insights into t
 he nature of novelty\, science versus technology\, and the challenge of in
 venting for militaries. After reviewing the multi-disciplinary literature 
 on invention\, I elaborate the Commission’s philosophy and clarify its k
 ey features using three example rulings: dazzle camouflage\, TNT manufactu
 re\, and fire control systems. \nSpeakers:\nAristotle Vainikos (Lady Marga
 ret Hall\, Oxford)
LOCATION:History Faculty (Colin Matthew Room)\, George Street OX1 2RL
TZID:Europe/London
URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/4aafbdbf-e58e-4c88-b7a0-7e31247953ad/
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DESCRIPTION:Talk:Inventing Wartime Invention: The Royal Commission on Awar
 ds to Inventors and Criteria for “Merit” in WWI Technology - Aristotle
  Vainikos (Lady Margaret Hall\, Oxford)
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