A brief history of innovation: In the beginning, there were lone inventors who changed the world. John Harrison was one of the most prominent – the clock-maker became famous and (eventually) rich in the 18th century by building a clock so accurate and so resilient in the face of changing temperatures and constant rocking that it could be taken on board a ship and used to calculate the ship's longitude. In doing so, Harrison pitted himself against the might of the Royal Observatory, which had been established in 1675 by King Charles II in order to solve the longitude problem with an astronomical method. The loner got there first.
以下是一部“创新简史”：首先登场的是那些孤军奋战、并改变了世界的发明家，其中最杰出的一位是约翰•哈里森(John Harrison)。这位钟表匠在18世纪名声大噪，并且（最终）变得非常富有，原因是他制造了一台时钟，其走时是如此精确，在气温变化和长期摇晃的情况下是如此不受干扰，以至于人们可把它装配在轮船上，用以计算船所在的经度。哈里森也由此与有权有势的英国皇家天文台(Royal Observatory)展开了竞争。皇家天文台是由查理二世(King Charles II)于1675年建立的，目的是用天文学方法解决经度问题。孤军奋战的发明家率先拿出了答案。