--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are many points in the history of…" description: "\"There are many points in the history of an invention which the inventor himself is apt to overlook as trifling, but in which posterity never fail to ta..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/david-brewster-37945_cases_there-are-many-points-in-the-history-of_77044.png" --- # There are many points in the history of an invention which… ![“There are many points in the history of an invention which the inventor himself is apt to overlook as trifling, but in which posterity never fail to take a deep interest. The progress of the human mind is never traced with such a lively interest as through the steps by which it perfects a great…” quote by David Brewster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/david-brewster-37945_cases_there-are-many-points-in-the-history-of_77044.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/david-brewster-37945_cases_there-are-many-points-in-the-history-of_77044.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/david-brewster-37945_cases_there-are-many-points-in-the-history-of_77044.png) > “There are many points in the history of an invention which the inventor himself is apt to overlook as trifling, but in which posterity never fail to take a deep interest. The progress of the human mind is never traced with such a lively interest as through the steps by which it perfects a great invention; and there is certainly no invention respecting which this minute information will be more eagerly sought after, than in the case of the steam-engine.” [David Brewster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brewster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Inventors often dismiss minor details that later generations find crucial, especially in transformative technologies like the steam engine. **In simple terms:** Minor details become historically pivotal. Key Takeaway History values what innovators ignore. Themes history innovation technology progress perception Mood reflective inquisitive respectful Type historical observation philosophical insight When to use this quote - studying technological evolution - museum curation - engineering education - historical research - public policy Key Concepts invention steam engine human mind trifling details Practical Applications - museum design - educational curricula Questions to Reflect On - What small aspects of current tech might future societies deem essential? - How does hindsight reshape our view of invention? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Great inventions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-inventions/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Human mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-mind/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Invention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invention/) [Inventor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inventor/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Steam engines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steam-engines/) ## Related quotes > [The steam-engine I call fire-demon and great; but it is nothing to the invention of fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-steam-engine-i-call-fire-demon-and-great-but-it-is-nothing-to-the/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [ The smoke and the fire and the speed, the action and the sound, and everything that goes together, \[the steam engine\] is the most… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-winston-link/the-smoke-and-the-fire-and-the-speed-the-action-and-the-sound-and/) [O. Winston Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-winston-link/) > [The steam-engine in its manifold applications, the crime-decreasing gas-lamp, the lightning conductor, the electric telegraph, the law of storms and rules for the mariner's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/the-steam-engine-in-its-manifold-applications-the-crime-decreasing/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [My steamboat voyage to Albany and back, has turned out rather more favorable than I had calculated. The distance from New York to Albany…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulton/my-steamboat-voyage-to-albany-and-back-has-turned-out-rather-more/) [Robert Fulton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulton/) > [Every small boy wanted to be a steam engine driver when they grew up in the old days, including me. 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Do not believe them; it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/ingenious-philosophers-tell-you-perhaps-that-the-great-work-of-the/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Those who admire modern civilization usually identify it with the steam engine and the electric telegraph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/those-who-admire-modern-civilization-usually-identify-it-with-the/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More by David Brewster > [Prophetic of infidel times, and indicating the unsoundness of our general education, 'The Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation', has started into public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brewster/prophetic-of-infidel-times-and-indicating-the-unsoundness-of-our/) [David Brewster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brewster/) > [“Thus identified with astronomy, in proclaiming truths supposed to be hostile to Scripture, Geology has been denounced as the enemy of religion. 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