big ethno news

[merchimerch]

This is a huge deal for ethnomusicologists - Standford researchers have confirmed that Thomas Edison didn't make the first sound recording - it was made by a French typesetter Eduard Scott. It was made on paper, and was probably Scott's daughter. To be fair, the recording was made to be a visual, not sound recording, so I'm not sure how exactly this fits into our historiography/teleology.

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8739021?source=most_viewed

Comments

[mehitabelmmoss.livejournal.com]

I used to teach about Invention: Alex Bell wasn't the first to send sound through wires either - just 1st to the patent office by machination. The Wrights slowed American airplane development by patenting everything in sight and then suing like crazy so European inventors bypassed us quickly. We caught up late in WWI after the patents were 'taken' by the US Gov't as an emergency step.

Myths and stories of invention are filled with such stories. I wasn't surprised about this.