Simultaneous invention

#TIA – This is one of those stories that may well be true but don’t matter in the long run, except to those who put them together.

What makes a scientific breakthrough? And does it count as a breakthrough if someone else makes the same discovery? The phenomenon of two people inventing or discovering the same thing in two different locations without any contact, called multiple discovery, has dogged the scientific community for hundreds of years.

It’s not just about who gets credit. Unravelling how new ideas enter the human consciousness could be a holy grail for anticipating the future, and shape how we invent new technology.

Read more at Quartz