The Famous Experiment

Originality is Inevitable 

In 1638, Galileo theorized a column of water descending in a tube, sealed at the top, would create a vacuum in the space above it. In his theory, the force of the vacuum was responsible for suspending the water within tube, keeping it from rushing out into a basin of water below.

To translate: Think about performing a similar experiment as a kid when you magically suspended orange soda within a plastic straw just by holding your finger to the straw’s top opening. Now multiply the scale of that experiment by 48.

Galileo’s colleague, Giovanni Battista Baliani, was in disagreement as to what kept a 32 foot column of water in a sealed tube from dispersing, theorizing the column was held together by the weight of the air around us as opposed to a force created by a vacuum.

Baliani’s theory inspired another young Italian physicist and student of Galileo, Evangelista Torricelli, who sought to re-create the experiment and land on his own conclusion. In 1643, just five years later, Torricelli’s attempts led to the use of mercury in place of water, which allowed the experiment to be performed at 1/14th scale. Needing only two-foot tubes, Torricelli could easily perform the experiment in public venues and bring it to other physicists. The experiment’s mobility enabled it to catch fire within the scientific community. It quickly became a catalyst for modern experiments as physicists around the world began producing their own versions and passed it from one to another like a game of telephone, replacing one variable for another—and so forth. Torricelli’s experiment was so popular it became known as the “Famous Experiment” when described in 1654, which is the first known use of the phrase in recorded English. Later, in 1663 it would be described as “famosissima” in Italian.

Torricelli’s Famous Experiment went on to conclude that there was indeed a vacuum, as Galileo theorized, but that air surrounding the column of water and pressing on the basin of water below was, in fact, having an impact as well. Further examination and study proved air has weight, and Torricelli went on to write, “We live under an ocean of air.” It was the Famous Experiment that led to Torricelli’s invention of the barometer in 1644, one year later, and would ultimately revolutionize atmospheric science forever.  

Torricelli never began his experiments intent on changing the world forever. He didn’t know he’d ultimately invent the barometer. The original experiments themselves weren’t even of his own creation, yet the sum of his past experiences and individuality inevitably led to an original conclusion. He started precisely where others had, but landed somewhere new, somewhere exciting, and somewhere nobody had ever been. Perhaps originality is inevitable and, if so, should never be a barrier to exploration.

Weather apps abound.

As of this writing there are 8,210 weather-related apps in Apple’s App Store marketplace. The Google Play store has 9,835 apps that let you know if you’re going to need an umbrella today. Day by day, these apps seem to multiply. The sheer amount never seems to deter creators from producing the same solution over and over again, at least on the surface. But what is the attraction?

Perhaps a more poignant question is, “Does the attraction matter?” It’s possible that thousands of creators simply started in the same place, embarking on a weather app, in hopes that new discoveries along the way would lead them somewhere they wouldn’t have thought of had they not put one foot forward.

When you’re in the business of software development, daily requests flock into your neighborhood from those with app ideas. Nearly everyone has an app idea, just as everyone has some idea for an invention, and we’ve all got some form of story with the quotes: “That was my idea!” Or “Hey, we thought of that!”

Often, the excitement around an app idea or invention flutters away as quickly as a search engine reveals that it’s not original, it’s already been done... many, many times. When years’-old ideas show up in the wild, produced by someone else (Liz Gilbert calls this “Big Magic.”), it can spark a sense of shoulda-coulda-woulda and the dream dies then and there. But, it shouldn’t. Everyone is unique; we are made of the culmination of our own experiences—all of which affect our output. Pushing forward will undoubtedly produce a different outcome, even if it’s ever so slight.

Weather apps alone should be inspiration enough to move forward with a desire to create. Thousands exist, all of which stem from a common idea, yet few look exactly the same and some have even led to truly unique ideas and advances in human interaction. 

Take, for example, Dark Sky, a weather app originally released in 2012 for iOS and Android after a modest Kickstarter campaign. At first glance, Dark Sky looked to accomplish what most in the genre provided, a reliable forecast, but founders Jack Turner and Adam Grossman uncovered a rather specific niche along their journey—keeping Dark Sky’s users dry. Turner and Grossman focused their energy on creating algorithms that crunched government precipitation data in a way that could potentially provide up-to-the-minute storm prediction. Unlike traditional weather apps, Dark Sky put aside conventional priorities in seven and 10-day forecasts for an app driven to help users in the immediate future. It wasn’t long before Dark Sky’s unique approach turned it into an instant success and allowed the app to grow a user-base over eight successful years before attracting the eyes of Apple, who acquired Dark Sky in March of 2020.

Much like Torricelli’s Famous Experiment, the goal of originality has not been a barrier to entry for weather apps but rather originality has become an inevitable byproduct. Torricelli could not have known he’d invent the barometer when re-producing Galileo’s experiment, but he persevered solely on a hunch that his outcome would be unique. Similarly, Turner and Grossman couldn’t have predicted their idea would be acquired by Apple when they set out on a journey thousands had before them.

If you’ve got an app idea, a dream, and a hunch, then move forward! Do not let the landscape before you discourage what might be. You’ll likely end up somewhere you didn’t expect, somewhere exciting, and perhaps somewhere nobody has ever been.

Sources

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, Penguin Random House (published by Riverhead Books)

The Invention of Science: A New History of the Scientific Revolution, Harper Collins

History of Barometer, Soft Schools

Evangelista Torricelli, Wikipedia

Video: See How Dark Sky Disrupts The Weather Report With Its Mobile Tech, Fast Company

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