Originally Posted by Garth

Great inventions are developed as a result of genius minds being unable to rest. The truly great minds can envision a better way of doing something and work tirelessly until they achieve their goal. This is the reason that most good inventions are stolen: the real inventors are not trying to make money so they do not obtain a patent.

As the old saying goes, "Necessity is the mother of invention" For example, Radar was developed by the military for an edge in the air. Same with sonar, GPS, kevlar etc.

I think profit has very little to do with the best inventions, except for the less influential ones like "oxy-clean" and "the clapper" and stuff like that.