[Jeff Chandler]

I see the myth of medieval scientists believing in a flat earth is still around.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

I'm well familiar with the history of beliefs about the shape of the Earth, and its place in the cosmos. (It's more complex than you seem to think.)

My point was (and remains) that Columbus was the one who actually did something with that knowledge. He gets the credit for taking the risks and being the pioneer. And, so should Jobs.

Perhaps, my analogy could be stretched to include the executives at Xerox. Much like the Vikings discovered N. America, and then didn't do anything with it — the PARC lab rats discovered the GUI, but Xerox did nothing with it. Maybe the PARC lab rats should get the same credit we give to Lief the Lucky. He got there first, and he likely knew he had discovered something important — but, he was thwarted by the powers-that-were. OTOH, the lab rats never left the comforts and security of their corporate lab to venture forth on their own, and bring their discovery to market. It took visionary and risk-taking college dropout to do that.