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No. 217 · Strategy · General Thinking

Simultaneous Invention

When the conditions are right, several people often reach the same idea at once.

Simultaneous Invention, or multiple discovery, is when separate people reach the same breakthrough independently: Newton and Leibniz with calculus, Darwin and Wallace with natural selection, Bell and Gray with the telephone. It suggests progress grows from shared knowledge and timing more than lone genius.

If someone else is working on your idea, don't be discouraged; it often means the time is right. Stay close to developments in your field, share and build on others' work, and focus on execution and perseverance, since good ideas rarely stay exclusive for long.

In the Almanac

“Bell and Gray”, 1876 · “Kilby and Noyce”, 1958–1959

Both stories in full, three ways to use it and where it misleads.

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Simultaneous Invention

Questions

What is Simultaneous Invention?

Simultaneous Invention, or multiple discovery, is when separate people reach the same breakthrough independently: Newton and Leibniz with calculus, Darwin and Wallace with natural selection, Bell and Gray with the telephone. It suggests progress grows from shared knowledge and timing more than lone genius.

How do you use Simultaneous Invention?

If someone else is working on your idea, don't be discouraged; it often means the time is right. Stay close to developments in your field, share and build on others' work, and focus on execution and perseverance, since good ideas rarely stay exclusive for long.

When does Simultaneous Invention matter?

Simultaneous Invention is one of the 56 mental models for strategy, the situations where you ask: How do I win when others want the same thing? Within that, it belongs to “Finding opportunities”, alongside Arbitrage, Idea Maze and Joy’s Law.

What is an example of Simultaneous Invention?

Two stories show it at work: Bell and Gray (1876) and Kilby and Noyce (1958–1959). Both are told in full in The Mental Models Daily Almanac, which has two stories for each of its 365 models.

Which mental models are related to Simultaneous Invention?

First Mover Advantage, Secrets and Critical Mass. Simultaneous Invention itself comes from general thinking.