How did Joseph Black’s lectures spread his scientific ideas despite his limited publishing?

Although Joseph Black had a notable aversion to publishing his research—for instance, he never published his theories on heat—his scientific concepts were widely disseminated through his teaching career.1

After becoming a professor of chemistry at the University of Edinburgh in 1766, Black focused heavily on his annual course of lectures. These lectures attracted large numbers of students, sometimes exceeding 300 per year, who then diffused his concepts throughout Great Britain, Europe, and the United States. Additionally, while Black himself avoided formal publication, some of his work was eventually published by others.1