There was a Russian inventor, called Genrich Altshuller, Who also worked as a patent examiner. And he invented a method called TRIZ , which is a systematic method of inventing things, based on highly abstract patterns evident in many inventions - a way you can teach every decent engineer to become highly inventive.<p>It is a highly effective method(mostly for the physical world , less for IT afaik) , used in many large inventive organizations very successfully and behind many inventions.<p>So in my eyes he is one of the most productive inventors in the world.<p>Also he was sent to the soviet Gulag , a labor camp deep in frozen sybiria , but still remained hopeful and in good spirit , and in the Gulag he and others create a group that taught each other various fields , like architecture, literature ,science, etc - as a way to keep their humanity and not be broken.