Malcolm Gladwell’s article  Annals of Innovation: In the Air: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker  makes fascinating reading. Many inventions were made almost simultaneously in history, leading some to believe that they were inevitable and that geniuses differ from other people only in degree, not in kind. Nathan Myhrvold formed a company to systematize and make more efficient the process of inventions, with spectacular success so far. Highly recommended. Thanks to David Craigie for the tip (and I wonder when he will get around to having his own blog).