Here is Ernst Mach’s proof of early man’s debt to accidental discovery:
It is by accidental circumstances, that is, by such as lie without his purpose, foresight, and power, that man is gradually led to the acquaintance of improved means of satisfying his wants. Let the reader picture to himself the genius of a man who could have foreseen without the help of accident that clay handled in the ordinary manner would produce a useful cooking utensil. The majority of inventions made in the early stages of civilization . . . could not have been the product of deliberate methodical reflection for the simple reason that no idea of their value and significance could have been had except from their practical use.
(Quoted from page 264 of Popular Scientific Lectures, by Ernst Mach. Open Court Publishing, 1943.)
For a brief biography of Ernst Mach, click here. For images of or relating Ernst Mach, click here.
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