Daily English 1298 Claiming Credit for an Invention

Dialogue/Story

Slow Speed begins at: 1:04
Explanation begins at: 3:08
Normal Speed begins at: 19:150

Complete Transcript

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 1,298 – Claiming Credit for an Invention.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 1,298. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

This episode is a dialogue between Kitty and Alberto about saying that you came up with, or created, a new idea or a new thing when you didn’t. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Kitty: Wait a second. We invented the Macanator. It was one of the most important technical achievements of our country.

Alberto: What? You can’t claim credit for the Macanator. We beat you to it.

Kitty: You may have invented the precursor to the modern-day Macanator, but we’re the ones who are the recognized inventors.

Alberto: That’s disputed. Just because we didn’t document the achievement, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Kitty: You mean it’s a case of “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”

Alberto: I don’t think so.

Kitty: The fact is, you can try to rebut our claims all you like, but you still have no proof.

Alberto: The proof is in the pudding. Don’t we make the best Macanators in the world today?

Kitty: That’s beside the point. Okay, I will concede that your country makes the best Macanators today, if you’ll concede that we invented it.

Alberto: Never!

[end of dialogue]

This dialogue is all about “inventions” (inventions). “Inventions” as a word comes from the verb “to invent.” “To invent” means to create or develop something that has never been made before. Usually inventions are physical things – things that you make with your hands or with a machine. That’s normally how we would think of an invention, though I suppose nowadays, with software and computer programming, we might think of it a little differently.

In any case, our dialogue begins with Kitty saying to Alberto, “Wait a second,” meaning stop. “We invented the Macanator. It was one of the most important technical achievements of our country.” Kitty is saying that “we,” meaning she or someone from her country invented this machine or this thing called a “Macanator.” We’re not sure what a Macanator is and it’s not important.

What is important is that Kitty believes that it was “one of the most important technical achievements” of her country. A “technical achievement” would be some great accomplishment, some great thing that involves technology or tools, that makes life better in some way. A technical achievement would be, for example, the invention of the television or the smartphone or the wireless radio.

Alberto says, “What?” He’s very surprised. He says, “You can’t claim credit for the Macanator. We beat you to it.” So, it appears that Kitty and Alberto are from two different countries, and Alberto is saying that “we,” by which I think he means his country or someone from his country, “invented the Macanator,” and therefore Kitty’s country can’t “claim (claim) credit (credit).”

“To claim credit” is to say that you are responsible for something that was done and that therefore you should receive the praise or the recognition or the reward for it. You can claim credit for an idea just as well as for an invention. Usually when we use this expression “to claim credit,” we’re saying that someone falsely claimed credit – that someone said that he invented something or he thought of something when he really didn’t, just so that he could get the praise or recognition for it.

So, let’s say you and your coworker, a person you work with, are talking about an idea that you have. Well, later your coworker goes to your boss and claims credit for that idea, says that she thought of the idea. That would be an example of claiming credit for something. Alberto says that Kitty’s country cannot claim credit for the Macanator. He says, “We beat you to it.” “To beat (beat) someone to” something means to do something before another person does, or to be the first group or first person to do a certain thing. “The Americans beat other countries to the moon” – they got there before other countries landed on the moon.

Kitty says, “You may have invented the precursor to the modern-day Macanator, but we’re the ones who are the recognized inventors.” Kitty uses the word “precursor” (precursor). A precursor is something that happens before another event, and that leads to it in some way or is responsible for the later event that takes place. For example, the typewriter, the manual typewriter, was in some ways the precursor to modern computer word processors – computers that did the same thing as a typewriter only in a better or different way.

Kitty says that Alberto’s country “invented the precursor to the modern-day,” or current, “Macanator,” this strange and unknown machine, “but we’re the ones who are the recognized inventors,” she says. “To be recognized” means that you are acknowledged or seen by others as having done a certain thing or to have accomplished a certain thing. We might say, “This runner is recognized as the fastest man in the world.” Everyone knows him and agrees that yes, he is the fastest man in the world.

Alberto says, “That’s disputed.” Something that is “disputed” (disputed) is something that people do not agree on or something that is controversial – that is, people have different opinions about it and often disagree, sometimes with great emotion about it. Alberto says, “Just because we didn’t document the achievement, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.” “To document” (document) something is to write it down or to do something that makes a permanent or visible record of it.

Nowadays we might record a video to document something happening. The word “document” is often used to describe pieces of paper that have writing on them, or any kind of writing, such as a Microsoft Word document. That would be an electronic file that has information, written information, on it. “To document” as a verb, however, means more generally to do something, to record a certain event in a permanent way that others can go and look at to see that it actually happened.

Alberto says, “Just because we didn’t,” we did not, “document the achievement” – that is, the invention of this machine – “does not mean it didn’t happen.” It’s kind of hard to understand in that sentence because there are a lot of negatives there. Basically what Alberto is saying is that even though we didn’t record it or document it, it still happened. Just because there’s no evidence doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. It did happen, even though there is nothing to show or prove it happened.

Kitty then uses a famous expression in English about this exact situation. She says, “You mean it’s a case of ‘If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?’” This expression is used sometimes to question whether something has value or meaning if no one is actually there to see it or hear it. The obvious answer to this question, of course, is yes; things make sounds even though no one is there to hear the sound waves that move through the air.

The expression is sometimes used jokingly, as though it were some sort of great philosophical question. A “forest” (forest) is a large group of trees in a single area. Alberto says, “I don’t think so,” meaning “I don’t think this is an example of that case of the tree falling in the forest and no one being around to hear it.” Kitty then says, “The fact is, you can try to rebut our claims all you like, but you still have no proof.” The expression “the fact is” is often used to emphasize that you are telling the truth or that what you are saying is a fact. It is real. It is true.

The verb “to rebut” (rebut) means to present an opposing view or opinion of something, to argue against something. Usually we use this verb after another person has disagreed with us, so we present an argument, and the other person presents another argument against ours. We then “rebut” his argument. So it’s usually, if you will, the third time that the question has been addressed, although it’s not always used quite in that technical manner, the way we might use it in a formal debate or disagreement about a topic.

I published a scientific article about vocabulary not too long ago, and someone wrote an article disagreeing with me. I then was allowed to rebut his argument. I wrote a second article disagreeing with the things he said about my article. Who was right? Who was correct? Well, I was, of course. Kitty says that Alberto and his country can try to rebut her country’s “claims” (claims) all they like. A “claim” is when you say something is true.

Kitty says, however, that Alberto has no “proof” (proof). “Proof” is evidence, something that shows that you are correct. It could be documents or other things that show that you are telling the truth. Alberto then uses another popular expression in his response, although it doesn’t make a lot of sense. He says, “The proof is in the pudding” (pudding). The word “pudding” in British English is often used simply to mean what in American English we would call “dessert” (dessert) – something sweet that you eat at the end of a meal. For short, it sometimes simply called a “pud” (pud).

In American English, a pudding is one kind of dessert, a particular kind of dessert that often has what we would call a “creamy consistency.” It has a creamy texture or feel to it. In any case, the expression “The proof is in the pudding” means that whether you are right or not is determined by whether you are successful. If something actually works, then that is the proof. The proof or the evidence that you are correct is that something works.

The reason Alberto says that here is because he then claims that his country makes the best Macanators in the world, and if that’s true, therefore, he thinks they must have invented the Macanator. Of course, that isn’t really logical but that’s what Alberto is saying. Kitty, however, says, “That’s beside the point.” The expression “to be beside (beside) the point (point)” means it’s not important. It’s not related to this topic. It’s irrelevant, we might also say. Something that is “irrelevant” is something that doesn’t matter. It’s not important, especially when you are arguing about something or trying to make a case for something.

Kitty says, “I will concede that your country makes the best Macanators today.” “To concede” (concede) means to admit that something is true when earlier you said it wasn’t true – you said it was false – to say, “Okay, you’re right. I was wrong about this.” Kitty says that she will concede that Alberto’s country makes the best Macanators today, but she will only concede that – she will only agree to say she was wrong – if Alberto concedes that her country invented the Macanator.

And Alberto says, “Never!” meaning no, he will not agree to that statement. He will not concede that Kitty’s country invented the Macanator. What is the Macanator? Well, it’s a mystery.

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
[start of dialogue]

Kitty: Wait a second. We invented the Macanator. It was one of the most important technical achievements of our country.

Alberto: What? You can’t claim credit for the Macanator. We beat you to it.

Kitty: You may have invented the precursor to the modern-day Macanator, but we’re the ones who are the recognized inventors.

Alberto: That’s disputed. Just because we didn’t document the achievement, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Kitty: You mean it’s a case of “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”

Alberto: I don’t think so.

Kitty: The fact is, you can try to rebut our claims all you like, but you still have no proof.

Alberto: The proof is in the pudding. Don’t we make the best Macanators in the world today?

Kitty: That’s beside the point. Okay, I will concede that your country makes the best Macanators today, if you’ll concede that we invented it.

Alberto: Never!

[end of dialogue]

Our scriptwriter is, or should be recognized as, one of the great scriptwriters on the internet. I speak, of course, of the wonderfully talented Dr. Lucy Tse.

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thanks for listening. Come back and listen to us again right here on ESL Podcast.

Glossary

to invent – to create and develop something that has never been made before

* Who invented the light bulb?

technical achievement – an accomplishment that involves technology or tools that somehow make it possible to do something better, faster, or more efficiently than before

* Each year, the Academy Awards gives technical achievement awards to films with the most impressive special effects.

to claim credit – to state that one is responsible for something good that has happened, and that one should receive praise, recognition, or rewards for it

* No single person can claim credit for increasing the panda bear population. Many people were involved.

to beat (someone) to (something) – to do something before another person does it; to be the first among a group of people to do something

* Normally, Ryan is the first person in the office to finish his report, but Kylie beat him to it yesterday.

precursor – something that comes or happens before something else, and that leads to it in some way

* The typewriter was the precursor to modern word processors.

recognized – seen and acknowledged by others, and known in a particular way, especially known for one’s work or accomplishments

* Mozart is recognized as one of Europe’s greatest composers.

disputed – the subject of a disagreement; controversial; with people having different opinions or beliefs about something

* Those islands are disputed territory. Two countries claim to own the land.

to document – to put something in writing so that is it recorded, will be remembered, and can be referred to as proof or evidence in the future

* What documents did you need to show the birth of your daughter overseas?

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? – a phrase questioning whether something has meaning or value if no one has seen or heard it

* I got to level 48 in the video game! But the computer lost power before I could record my name, so nobody will ever know about it. If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

the fact is – a phrase used to emphasize that one is speaking the truth, not an opinion or belief

* The fact is, if sales don’t improve, our store will have to close.

to rebut – to refute; to argue against something; to present an opposing argument

* The state’s attorney did an excellent job of rebutting the other attorney’s arguments.

proof – evidence; documents or objects that demonstrate something happened at a particular time or in a particular way

* Do you have any proof that you were at home last Thursday night?

the proof is in the pudding – a phrase meaning that the end result determines whether one’s plans and efforts were successful

* A: You’re doing a great job fixing the car!

B: Well, the proof is in the pudding. Hopefully it will start.

beside the point – irrelevant; not important or meaningful in the current conversation; not related the topic

* The new device looks good, but that’s beside the point if it doesn’t work properly and customers aren’t happy with it.

to concede – to admit that something is true when earlier one had opposed or denied it

* After seeing how quickly Vivian lost weight, Tessa conceded that Vivian’s diet plan was better than hers.

Comprehension Questions

1. What is disputed?
a) The value and importance of the Macanator
b) The future potential of the Macanator
c) The country where the Macanator was invented

2. What does Alberto mean when he says, “We beat you to it”?
a) We did it before you did.
b) We did it better than you did.
c) We did it more secretly than you did.

Answers at bottom.

What Else Does It Mean?

to claim credit

The phrase “to claim credit,” in this podcast, means to state that one is responsible for something good that has happened, and that one should receive praise, recognition, or rewards for it: “Which country claims credit for sending the first living creature into outer space?” The phrase “on credit” means to take or receive something now, but pay for it later: “Most Americans buy their car on credit, not with all cash.” The phrase “to (someone’s) credit” is used to praise another person and say that he or she has done something well: “James gets angry easily at work, but to his credit, he never yells at his children.” Finally, “the credits” are the long list of names at the end of a movie or TV show, recognizing all the people who helped to create it: “Normally we ignore the credits, but my cousin helped with the lighting, so we watched until we saw her name.”

proof

In this podcast, the word “proof” means evidence, such as documents or objects, that demonstrate something happened at a particular time or in a particular way: “This research finding is proof that our theory is correct!” The phrase “proof” means with protection against something: “What can we do to make our living room child-proof before my cousin’s kids come over?” Or, “Where can I buy waterproof boots?” As a verb, “to proof” or “to proofread” means to read a document carefully to identify and correct any errors: “It’s always easier to proofread someone else’s writing than it is to find errors in your own writing.” Finally, a “proof copy,” sometimes called “proofs,” is the final version of how something will be, reviewed one final time before many copies are printed: “Once you approve the proof copy, we’ll begin printing the books.”

Culture Note

Frederick Cook

Frederick Albert Cook is one of the most “controversial” (causing disagreement; with strong, opposite opinions about a subject) American “explorers” (people who go to and get information about a place that few people have visited). Born in New York in 1865, he “claimed” (said that something was true) to have been the first person to reach the “summit” (peak; the highest part of a mountain) of Alaska’s Mount Denali, which is North America’s highest mountain, in 1906. He also claimed to be the first person to have reached the North Pole, in 1908.

However, immediately after he made those claims many people began “to question them” (to ask whether something could be true). Although Cook presented photographs and other documentation to “support” (provide evidence for) his claims, they were not “cut and dry” (completely clear and decided). Many people argued that his photographs were from nearby places, but not Denali and the North Pole.

Cook and other explorers were “under tremendous pressure” (felt a strong need to do something) to prove that they were the first to succeed in “seemingly” (appearing to be) impossible challenges. They loved exploring, but their trips were expensive and only the most successful and “widely acclaimed” (praised by many people) received money for their next “expeditions” (adventures of exploration).

Today, both of Cook’s claims have been “largely” (mostly) “discredited” (shown to be false; no longer believed). The first team of climbers to reach the summit of Denali recorded their “feat” (accomplishment) in 1913. And Robert Peary is generally considered to be the first person to reach the North Pole, in 1909. But the controversy continues and some people do believe Cook might have done what he claimed.

Comprehension Answers

1 - c

2 - a