Need an Expert? Try the Crowd
In 1714, the British government held a contest. They offered
a large cash prize to anyone who could solve the vexing “longitude problem” —
how to determine a ship’s east/west position on the open ocean — since none of
their naval experts had been able to do so.
Lots of people gave it a try. One of them, a self-educated
carpenter named John Harrison, invented the marine chronometer — a rugged and
highly precise clock — that did the trick. For the first time, sailors could
accurately determine their location at sea.
A centuries-old problem was solved. And, arguably,
crowdsourcing was born.
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