Forum: Story Discussion and Feedback

He invented the perfect Pizza.

Inventions don't just have to be technological

I've read it. I like it, but it doesn't really match my criteria. Besides, he didn't invent pizza. He just developed a very good pizza recipe and business model.

He just developed a very good pizza recipe and business model.

Inventors typically invent new things within an existing category. You don't have to invent a new category to be a genius inventor.

Inventors typically invent new things within an existing category. You don't have to invent a new category to be a genius inventor.

Ok, but I'm looking for technology oriented stories, not food oriented. :)

If he came up with a machine that was able to assemble the pizza to replace people doing it and so saving time & money & resulting in a more consistent product, that would be inventing something.

Aha! Same author, the Miss Powers story. Not pizza but similar in concept.

AJ

He just came up with a better recipe.

That is just semantics.

Inventing something is the process of creating something that was not previously in existence. Modifying an existing recipe to improve it will result in new recipe. Modifying existing dough and sauce recipes is creating/inventing two new recipes. Creating a new blend of cheeses or toppings can also be viewed as an invention. Putting these four creations together is inventing a new pizza.

I don't think the Patent Office would accept four new patents for a pizza.

There's a difference between the technical meaning of 'invent' and its common usage.

AJ

There's a difference between the technical meaning of 'invent' and its common usage.

Not really. You are just assigning a special significance to creating some form of technology. In both instances it is about creating something.

Not really. You are just assigning a special significance to creating some form of technology. In both instances it is about creating something.

No, one involves inventing something, like the smartphone or a new form of space travel, the other involves discovering something, like how well cheese and hot-peppers go together. They're galaxies apart (well, technically not, since everyone's stuck on the same damn hunk of wet rock).

He's thinking 'inventor' in the vein of Newton, Einstein or Steve Jobs. He's more interested in the process of creating something new, rather than 'adjusting' or modifying existing products, no matter how cleverly you try to disguise how ordinary it is.

He's thinking 'inventor' in the vein of Newton, Einstein or Steve Jobs. He's more interested in the process of creating something new, rather than 'adjusting' or modifying existing products, no matter how cleverly you try to disguise how ordinary it is.

Thanks, you are correct. That's what I was looking for when I started this thread. Now, I don't give a fuck anymore. I am so pissed off at how rudely my thread has been hijacked by two egos arguing over pizza that I would delete the whole damn thread if I could. My chances of finding any new or even old) inventor stories to read and enjoy have dropped to near zero. Yes, I know that the forums are open and any asshole can come in and hijack any damn thread they wish. That does not make it any less rude to do so.

Have you tried google?

site:storiesonline.net inventor
or
site:storiesonline.net genius inventor
(only five results)

AJ

Have you tried google?

site:storiesonline.net inventor

Yes, I have. The results are not very useful - listings out the ass, but multiple duplications and no filtering. That's why I asked for personal recommendations.

If you don't mind science fiction with a lot of sex where the inventor is a supporting character rather than the main character, try Three Square Meals.

Thanks for the suggestion, but the story codes make me shy away from it.

What specifically?

Not a fan of 99% of the mind control stories I've read and do not care for any BDSM elements in a story. The story has a high enough rating that I may give it a try. I'm not looking for a stroke story, and that 'Much Sex' code makes me think It's not for me.

Now, I don't give a fuck anymore. I am so pissed off at how rudely my thread has been hijacked by two egos arguing over pizza that I would delete the whole damn thread if I could. My chances of finding any new or even old) inventor stories to read and enjoy have dropped to near zero. Yes, I know that the forums are open and any asshole can come in and hijack any damn thread they wish. That does not make it any less rude to do so.

Sorry, Wheezer, my antagonizing the bear certainly didn't help, even if I was trying to move the discussion back to the original topic.

If I were you, I'd change your search terms, searching for "AI", "spaceship" or "artifact", as many of the stories you'd be looking for are sci-fi in nature, dealing with either building or discovering something new. (Our stories tend to rely on existing genres of fiction, rather than biographical stories.)

If you feel the thread was hijacked by me I apologize. That was not my intent.

Pizza was the battlefield, but the disagreement was over concepts and the meaning of words, and the use of words, as Grant said, is important on this site.

As I said earlier, I'm finished discussing this topic for I don't seem to get through to others what 'invent' means.

As I said earlier, I'm finished discussing this topic for I don't seem to get through to others what 'invent' means.

I'm a culinary school trained professional chef (retired) and I have never heard the word 'invent' used to describe any new recipe. Food chemists may invent completely new food products, but recipes are not inventions.

inventions

As I said, I have no desire to continue discussing the topic.

As I said, I have no desire to continue discussing the topic.

Continuing to beat a dead horse, since we're all wordsmiths here, I think you're confusing "invention" with "innovation". While you can get away with using using invention to mean 'anything creative', it's a poor choice given the potential options available.

He's thinking 'inventor' in the vein of Newton, Einstein or Steve Jobs.

Not the first two. AFAIK they discovered laws of physics, they didn't invent anything. Not sure about Steve Jobs - he might actually have invented things in his early career. But even then it's not as obvious as velcro, post-it notes, ring-pull cans or safety pins.

AJ

It's a better pizza, but it's not a new pizza.

Different dough for the base, wildly different toppings that become popular would qualify as a new pizza.

Poor logic Grant.

It is a new pizza because the combination of ingredients used to create the dough, sauce, cheese, and/or topping had never been put together before. Furthermore, popularity is not a factor in "new". If you start with a recipe and change the ingredients, you have a different recipe. If that recipe is different from anything in existence, then it is a new recipe (i.e., a new pizza).

What you are doing is defining a category, such as rifle, and saying that a change to one rifle does not create a new rifle. The evolution of a rifles from the muzzle loading flintlock to the M-16 was nothing more than a series of improvements to the basic design.

And while you may consider it semantics, since this site is about the written word, such things are of considerable importance.

You seem resistant to calling something new because there isn't enough change or difference to qualify calling that something "new". If you wish to twist the meaning of "different" to mean "better" instead of "new", I call that a game of semantics.

You seem resistant to calling something new because there isn't enough change or difference to qualify calling that something "new". If you wish to twist the meaning of "different" to mean "better" instead of "new", I call that a game of semantics.

And you're talking about Changing something, not creating something entirely new. Let's put this in terms you might understand:

Most authors essentially write the exact same story, however they're tasked with creating wholly new works. They don't do that by adding a few new characters, instead the best new works involve reinventing existing genres, or devising entirely new ones (like H.G. Wells or J.R.R. Tolkien). That's why some writers are written off as simple hacks (little originality in their works) while others are viewed as visionary.

As far as I know, no one's ever won an international award (patents, Nobels, Booker Prizes, Pulitzers) for devising a new pizza topping.

If we apply your rationale, after an inventor creates something new, any change to the basic function/design is just a change to an existing thing.

We can trace today's automobile back to a horse-drawn wagon. The first motor was a new invention after that the subsequent variations were just changes to the existing design and not something new. Thus when the horse was replaced by a modified motor it was just a change and not a new invention. The drive train of the car replaced the wagon tongue, but the drive train is not new for it is just a change to the gearing systems used by early watches, windmills, etc.

I still disagree. To me, an invention is something that was not in existence previously. There may be similar items, but the modified item is a new approach and the result is a new item. For example, the original pizza was created in the Middle East, and it consisted of unleavened bread topped with oils and spices. The addition of sauce, cheese, and/or toppings was the invention/creation of a new style of pizza. You don't have to invent something totally new, never existed before, to invent a new thing.

I doubt you and Grant will agree, and further discussion will not change my mind. So say what you will; I have said all I intend to on this topic.

I still disagree. To me, an invention is something that was not in existence previously. There may be similar items, but the modified item is a new approach and the result is a new item. For example, the original pizza was created in the Middle East, and it consisted of unleavened bread topped with oils and spices. The addition of sauce, cheese, and/or toppings was the invention/creation of a new style of pizza. You don't have to invent something totally new, never existed before, to invent a new thing.

So, according to you, if I mistakenly dribble some motor oil into my lentil soup, I thereby become an 'inventor', even if no one officially recognizes or chooses to repeat my 'invention'/mistake?

Anything 'new' that's introduced, even if it's been done a thousand times by other people, but has just never been 'packed and sold' as a specific product, is considered a recognizable 'invention', despite requiring no mechanical or engineering understanding?

I'm sorry, we're not disagreeing with you because of our 'blind-sided' opinions, but because you're mangling the English language. There are clear distinctions in English between inventions, failed experiments and creative endeavors. They may be similar in curtain regards, but they're not the same thing.

In the event the German goalie just wasn't up to scratch ;)

Also, one of the major design problems was the steel casing kept shattering on hitting the water due to the sheer weight of the bombs. The goalie would've been a red smear on a pile of bricks below the dam if he actually caught one.

In 'Morales and Lobo', Jeff was originally portrayed as a genius inventor ;)

I'm unfamiliar with this one, and it does not show on a title search.

I'll add to my original post that a lot of time-travel stories fit my criteria, even though the MC is 're-inventing' uptime technology. Reading well-researched descriptions about how one would go about introducing bronze or iron into a stone-age culture can be fascinating. (As well as the challenges of introducing other technology)

I'm unfamiliar with this one, and it does not show on a title search.

That's because the actual title names two characters who currently get less airtime than Morales and Lobo, ie 'Arlene and Jeff'. I did put a smiley to indicate humour - honest!

AJ

I gave up on Arlene & Jeff a year ago.

haven't read comic books since I was eight years old

Girl Genius by Phil Foglio

Girl Genius is not merely a comic book. It is a finely illustrated masterpiece of storytelling. Keep in mind Phil Foglio is the same artist of the Xxxenophile series - and did Phil & Dixie from Dragon Magazine.

It's just dick measuring in terms of intellect.

It matters to people who actually invent things that they use the correct terminology. They can screw up patents etc if they don't.

AJ

Anyway as to a recommendation I would definitely suggest A Close Call by Aubie56 https://storiesonline.net/series/595/close-call

A man gets transported back in time and plays sims in real life, inventing many different things and searching for precious metals to invent more.

Thanks!

http://img.memecdn.com/so-true_o_123066.jpg

A very insensitive link Harold. Especially for those of us who have or know people who have mental, physical, and other impediments.