I'd totally buy that book for one fact. What a cop out, I mean really, that would turn an online adventure into real historical research. (full disclosure that is way cheaper than flying to Europe from Tasmania.) :)
Wow! Superb writing, it feels like a crime thriller, with suspense, dead ends, and twists. The inventor of the smoke detector was this guy the whole time!!!
Just so you know, you can still die in fire even if you have a fire detector in your house. 😉
Taking a step back, I'm curious about how you decide what is a noteworthy "predecessor" technology. The cigarette doesn't seem like a necessary technological prerequisite in this specific case, just one of many smoke sources that could have led to the discovery. If Jaeger had done his research next to a fireplace, the technology family tree would look different.
Indeed, if the history had been different, then the history would be different ;)
My project seeks to record what has happened, not necessarily what is *needed* for something to happen. I agree that the latter would be interesting too, but that's not my main focus. I do record (but, for now, do not show) connections where the successor is merely a "byproduct" of the ancestor.
This story was so satisfying! I’m so glad you followed it through to the end, and I hope you updated the Wikipedia page with better references???
These kinds of rabbit holes sometimes completely derail my writing, but they are also really fun, it’s like an archeological treasure hunt!!! And it was so gratifying to see yours come to success!
Interesting — I'm not sure but I think that story is also wrong! Petroleum products developed without any causal link to whale oil products, I believe, and gradually displaced whale oil just because they were superior (notably, easier to produce)
Nice one! I enjoyed the story, and admire your tech tree project. Also the direct shooting of e-mails. Let me know if I can help. I don't live close to the Zentralbibliothek anymore, but I do have German skills.
Thanks! I think I'm done with this particular quest though. My only regret is making an error by relying on an LLM translation, I should have had a German speaker confirm the translations 😅
This was so much fun, thanks for bringing readers along with you.
I'd totally buy that book for one fact. What a cop out, I mean really, that would turn an online adventure into real historical research. (full disclosure that is way cheaper than flying to Europe from Tasmania.) :)
Wow! Superb writing, it feels like a crime thriller, with suspense, dead ends, and twists. The inventor of the smoke detector was this guy the whole time!!!
Just so you know, you can still die in fire even if you have a fire detector in your house. 😉
Non non c’est impossiburu que je meure dans un incendie maintenant 😌
Ininflammable Étienne
Interesting story!
Taking a step back, I'm curious about how you decide what is a noteworthy "predecessor" technology. The cigarette doesn't seem like a necessary technological prerequisite in this specific case, just one of many smoke sources that could have led to the discovery. If Jaeger had done his research next to a fireplace, the technology family tree would look different.
Indeed, if the history had been different, then the history would be different ;)
My project seeks to record what has happened, not necessarily what is *needed* for something to happen. I agree that the latter would be interesting too, but that's not my main focus. I do record (but, for now, do not show) connections where the successor is merely a "byproduct" of the ancestor.
Very fair! The tech tree is dual-use technology :)
It would be super interesting to see the contingent vs necessary edges in the tree!
This story was so satisfying! I’m so glad you followed it through to the end, and I hope you updated the Wikipedia page with better references???
These kinds of rabbit holes sometimes completely derail my writing, but they are also really fun, it’s like an archeological treasure hunt!!! And it was so gratifying to see yours come to success!
It *is* fun! Unfortunately often not worth it, but when you do commit, the research process really is an adventure!
the legends were true after all :)
btw about whale oil stories
I grew up in the 70s when fear about the end of oil was rampant
and the folk history of that time about whale oil was the opposite of the one you deboonked
according to my childhood legends
over hunting and increased industrialisation created scarcity that led to the development of ground oil based replacement lubricants
Interesting — I'm not sure but I think that story is also wrong! Petroleum products developed without any causal link to whale oil products, I believe, and gradually displaced whale oil just because they were superior (notably, easier to produce)
Nice one! I enjoyed the story, and admire your tech tree project. Also the direct shooting of e-mails. Let me know if I can help. I don't live close to the Zentralbibliothek anymore, but I do have German skills.
Thanks! I think I'm done with this particular quest though. My only regret is making an error by relying on an LLM translation, I should have had a German speaker confirm the translations 😅
Brilliant work. Thank you for going on this journey and making the world a better place :-)
I shall pass this on to a very good Wikipedia editor I know.