I recently had the pleasure of teaching a class about a Victorian “inventor” (although we eventually agreed that ‘innovator” may be a more appropriate term). The man in question was Joseph Lister. I told the class the story of how he came to use carbolic acid as an antiseptic. I used pictures and the usual generous helpings of gruesome detail. I then shared a question that I wanted them to think about: What made Joseph Lister a successful “inventor”? With the help of some cards and some carefully worded questions, we checked our understanding of the events and set about selecting...