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35 pages 1 hour read

Kevin Ashton

How to Fly a Horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2014

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Essay Topics

1.

The story of Rosalind Franklin presented in Chapter 5 is an example of someone not getting credit for her creative work because she was a woman. What is another example of a discovery, invention, or work of art that someone didn’t receive credit for because of gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, etc.? Explain the research involved and the circumstances surrounding the individual not receiving credit. 

2.

Do you agree with the author’s assertion that we should not assign credit to individuals for creative work because it is inevitably based upon the work of many others? Why or why not? Do you think it would it have any effect on the motivation people have to create? What would the author say about such external motivation? 

3.

The author discusses the work of Thomas Kuhn in his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, famous for the idea of “paradigm shifts” in the history of science. What is an example of one such paradigm shift that took place? Be sure to include the field and individuals involved, the circumstances that led to it, and how we know it was a paradigm shift.

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