--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: On almost anything someone does in the…" description: "\"On almost anything someone does in the computer business, you can go back in the literature and prove someone had done it earlier.\" — Ken Olsen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caf/ken-olsen-51927_books_on-almost-anything-someone-does-in-the-c_2409308.jpg" --- # On almost anything someone does in the computer business… ![“On almost anything someone does in the computer business, you can go back in the literature and prove someone had done it earlier.” quote by Ken Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caf/ken-olsen-51927_books_on-almost-anything-someone-does-in-the-c_2409308.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caf/ken-olsen-51927_books_on-almost-anything-someone-does-in-the-c_2409308.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caf/ken-olsen-51927_books_on-almost-anything-someone-does-in-the-c_2409308.jpg) > “On almost anything someone does in the computer business, you can go back in the literature and prove someone had done it earlier.” [Ken Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-olsen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Innovation is often incremental; many ideas appear independently and earlier works can be cited as proof of precedence. **In simple terms:** Ideas often predate their popularization. Key Takeaway Check prior art before claiming novelty. Themes innovation history technology Mood reflective analytical Type historical informational When to use this quote - product development - software design - patent filing - academic citation Key Concepts intellectual property precedence research Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify true originality? - What role does documentation play in tech history? A Different Perspective Earlier work may be obscure or undocumented, limiting verification. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) ## Related quotes > [Experience enables me to depose to the comfort and blessing that literature can prove in seasons of sickness and sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hood/experience-enables-me-to-depose-to-the-comfort-and-blessing-that/) [Thomas Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hood/) > [Poetry is a serious business; literature is the apparatus through which the world tries to keep intact its important ideas and feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/poetry-is-a-serious-business-literature-is-the-apparatus-through/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [The first forms of writing emerged not for art, literature, or love, not for spiritual or liturgical purposes, but for business--all literature could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-levitin/the-first-forms-of-writing-emerged-not-for-art-literature-or-love-not/) [Daniel Levitin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-levitin/) > [So I just always drew. But never took that as a career path. I ended up in the computer business, and found myself as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-povenmire/so-i-just-always-drew-but-never-took-that-as-a-career-path-i-ended-up/) [Dan Povenmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-povenmire/) > [I lost my computer business when I was 29 because I gave credit to firms I didn't investigate. I lost my house and had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jones/i-lost-my-computer-business-when-i-was-29-because-i-gave-credit-to/) [Peter Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jones/) > [“Computer business are like fruit market on a Saturday night. 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I understand that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-harmon/i-m-from-the-south-so-i-m-very-old-fashioned-and-i-m-not-very/) [Angie Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-harmon/) > [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [One of our big goals in search is to make search that really understands exactly what you want, understands everything in the world. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-page/one-of-our-big-goals-in-search-is-to-make-search-that-really/) [Larry Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-page/) > [It's interesting that the greatest minds of computer science, the founding fathers, like Alan Turing and Claude Shannon and Norbert Wiener, they all looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/it-s-interesting-that-the-greatest-minds-of-computer-science-the/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [The display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/) Jen-Hsun Huang > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More by Ken Olsen > [Teamwork was more accepted 40 years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-olsen/teamwork-was-more-accepted-40-years-ago/) [Ken Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-olsen/) > [Not a single, substantial, commercially-successful product had come from an adequately-finded team. They'd always come from the scrounging, scrapping, underfunded teams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-olsen/not-a-single-substantial-commercially-successful-product-had-come/) [Ken Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-olsen/) > [Software comes from heaven when you have good hardware.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-olsen/software-comes-from-heaven-when-you-have-good-hardware/) [Ken Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-olsen/) > [The nicest thing about standards is that there are so many of them to choose from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-olsen/the-nicest-thing-about-standards-is-that-there-are-so-many-of-them-to/) [Ken Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-olsen/) > [When I was a teenager in the late 30's and early 40's, electronics wasn't a word. You were interested in radio if you were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-olsen/when-i-was-a-teenager-in-the-late-30-s-and-early-40-s-electronics/) [Ken Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-olsen/) > [There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-olsen/there-is-no-reason-for-any-individual-to-have-a-computer-in-his-home/) [Ken Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-olsen/) [Explore all 7 Ken Olsen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-olsen/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. 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