A recent article on Space.com (Obama to Shine Light on Unsung Hero of Astronomyhttp://www.space.com/32596-obama-to-shi ... onomy.html) talks of an "unsung hero of Astronomy" who just happens to be, you guessed it, female. The article tries to present Henrietta Swan Leavitt, a 19th-century astronomer, as being mistreated in history solely because she is a woman and of course taken advantage of by a male, none other than than Edwin Hubble. Of course the fact that most students, let alone adults, wouldn't be able to name Mr. Hubble's achievements other than having a telescope named after him is besides the point.
History is replete with the names of personages who were unable or unaware of a way to take advantage of a discovery they had made. To wit, as most know (although with common core education I wouldn't lay odds), Henry Ford did not invent the automobile or the assembly line concept. He simply merged them to his great benefit. So, if it wasn't him, who was it that came up with this great innovation? It must have been a minority of course, else why was the name lost to history?
How many great and beneficial ideas are just abandoned for lack of a useful application or not being monetarily justifiable, I would hesitate to try and put a number on that, but the US patent office issued patent no. 8,000,000 on August 16, 2011 according to a government technology website article http://www.govtech.com/question-of-the- ... 81911.html
I found after a quick search online. Is there a chance that all 8 million patents resulted in someone becoming Uber rich? I doubt it and notoriety was probable just as fleeting in most of those cases.
I am not trying to downplay or take away from the contributions of Henrietta Swan Leavitt, just maybe put other things in perspective. It seems to me that the point of the article is not to promote Ms. Leavitt, but instead to point out that she was deprived of her rightful place in history because she was a female, oh and it goes without saying, by a nasty white man.
History is full of cases where scientists were shortchanged by people they worked with and/or collaberated with on ideas. Of course I will just declared a misogynist and bigot. I don't want to see women proven as being superior to men and therefore have to quell anything which might bring it to more peoples notice."Hubble's underwhelming acknowledgment of Henrietta Leavitt is an example of the ongoing denial and lack of the professional and public recognition that Henrietta Leavitt suffers from, despite her landmark discovery," Papacosta added.
The current administration's efforts to look for a reason to celebrate something by way of history instead of a current event due to a lack of current awe inspiring events of a positive nature, is just pandering and playing to the feel good politics of the "progressive" factions.