William Sealy Gosset, who developed the t-distribution, published under the name 'Student' since his employer (the Guinness Brewery) wouldn't let him publish under his real name.
Ask HN: Famous anonymous inventions other than Bitcoin?
81–90 of 146 posts
Re: Ask HN: Famous anonymous inventions other than Bitcoin?
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
I find the bearing more significant than the wheel: without a good bearing its utility is limited. They have a rich history it seems: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bearing_(mechanical)#History
True, but to invent the bearing you need to invent the wheel first
No you don't. Rolling logs as a linear bearing for launching boats, with people carrying the logs to the front from the back as the boat passes over, almost certainly preceded the wheel.
Re: Ask HN: Famous anonymous inventions other than Bitcoin?
#83The Stuxnet worm.
Does this one really count? It's common knowledge that this was developed by NSA's TAO along with Israel.
EDIT: although I do agree, I remember first reading about Stuxnet when it was first discovered, before evidence of its origin was known, and being absolutely fascinated
Re: Ask HN: Famous anonymous inventions other than Bitcoin?
#84Many women published research under pseudonyms in the past, for example Sophie Germain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Germain So I'd argue that many past inventions that are credited to men might actually have been achieved by women scientists publishing under their husbands / colleagues / friends name as a pseudonym. In Paris I once saw an original print of Marie Curie's book on radioactivity, where her name…
> In Paris I once saw an original print of Marie Curie's book on radioactivity, where her name is given as "Mme Pierre Curie". This probably shows how difficult it was even then to get something published under your own name as a woman
Nothing to do with publishing difficulties at all. It was simply the way a married French woman would be addressed at the time - as "Madame [husband's full name]", eg Michelle Obama would be "Mme Barack Obama". (It's still in use in more formal / old-fashioned contexts.) The reader would understand that the author of the book was Pierre Curie's wife, rather than him.
Re: Ask HN: Famous anonymous inventions other than Bitcoin?
#85Many women published research under pseudonyms in the past, for example Sophie Germain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Germain So I'd argue that many past inventions that are credited to men might actually have been achieved by women scientists publishing under their husbands / colleagues / friends name as a pseudonym. In Paris I once saw an original print of Marie Curie's book on radioactivity, where her name…
[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Famous anonymous inventions other than Bitcoin?
#86Fire.
Think about it, nobody knows who invented the ability to control fire, and yet it is still, by far, the most important technology in our lives. The largest economic sector is oil and gas, in other words, finding things to set on fire. All of our technology is powered by electricity, which is still predominantly generated by setting things on fire. Rockets are powered by fire. Guns are powered by fire. Cars are mostly powered by fire. Even if we switch to renewable, GHG-neutral sources of energy, that is only possible because of millennia of fire. Hell, we only evolved big brains in the first place because we unlocked tons of extra nutrients by cooking with fire.
Re: Ask HN: Famous anonymous inventions other than Bitcoin?
#87why the lucky stiff (okay, his identity came out later)
Re: Ask HN: Famous anonymous inventions other than Bitcoin?
#88Many women published research under pseudonyms in the past, for example Sophie Germain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Germain So I'd argue that many past inventions that are credited to men might actually have been achieved by women scientists publishing under their husbands / colleagues / friends name as a pseudonym. In Paris I once saw an original print of Marie Curie's book on radioactivity, where her name…
Both you and the rebuttal from piaste are correct. "Mme Pierre Curie" was published under her actual name, however lots of women published work under male pseudonyms. Even those who were known by their own names tend to be obscure historical footnotes, not as well remembered as male counterparts.
A few related links:
https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/articles/12-fem...
https://jezebel.com/homme-de-plume-what-i-learned-sending-my...
http://introductionsnecessary.com/2016/06/14/wang-zhenyi/
(Yes, I realize my sources are about mostly writers, not scientists.)
Re: Ask HN: Famous anonymous inventions other than Bitcoin?
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
The 1911 Solvay Conference photo illustrates just how exceptional a woman scientist was then: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solvay_Conference she's there at the table with Henri Poincaré.
The amount of brainpower in that room is incredible. Now think about it this way: probably half of what was available at the time got lost somehow. Makes you wonder where we'd be technologically if we had not systematically repressed one half of the possible scientists. On the positive side: probably a lot of that research got done anyway, with some guy taking credit for it.
It's way more than half. All those people are still white.
Re: Ask HN: Famous anonymous inventions other than Bitcoin?
#90Komodoplatform creator. Known and respected as jl777. He's made some really great advancements in block chain tech.