When I think of Edison, I try to visualize his large team of engineers. So what did their resumes look like? The business leader ensures the patent ownership through 'I.P. for hire", the promotion, the market, but you can never be certain from whose mind the creative leap actually was sparked. The roles and contributions become blurred by the optics that descend through history. The hiring process yet today has no quantifiable means of discerning creative intelligence which is the root of true innovation. We are now knee deep in generations of excellent imitators and information echo'ers - the Googler Schmooglers. True creativity spawns from the deep, not so much from the mere abundance of shallow knowledge in conjunction with an advanced capability to imitate and repeat.
Great piece on Edison’s socket- I half expected a foray into the wonder of knob and tube wiring still working in some barns - Keep up the fascinating threads!
When and where I lived, radio went off the air at sundown. With decent weather, we could still listen to WLS from Chicago. There was no TV, not until I was about 12 or 13, and then it was one network or later two, and it went on at about 4:00 pm and off before midnight. I lived in a house with no inside bathroom; there was an outhouse. We did have electricity and a refrigerator. The furnace was run by burning coal, which I had to shovel in (and later take the clinkers out). In the winter, my bedroom often had frost on the floor. Granted, this is rural hinterlands and not anywhere near a major metropolitan area; Green Bay was almost 200 miles away. But this was the USA in the mid-50s. The dictionary definition of "computer" was "a person who computes".
Clinkers are what's left after the coal has burned. It's typically glassy, brittle chunks. We used it as grit for sidewalks and the city used it on roads in winter, since clinkers were free and salt cost money. Alas, now we know that clinkers are rich sources of heavy metal pollution and should have been sequestered.
Very interesting, well written article. It is arguable that standard of living and life style in the year 1900 had more in common with ancient Rome than it did with the year 2000. I would love to see what the year 2100 will bring.
Lewis Lattimer actually made the filament which actually allows this invention to work. The early corporations then built in planned obsolescence so that the build would burn out. We all live in the Matrix so it would seem. Yes Edison was a great inventor BUT his early filaments would burn out almost daily! Of course these types of praise rarely are shown throughout history (oh I wonder why?)
When I think of Edison, I try to visualize his large team of engineers. So what did their resumes look like? The business leader ensures the patent ownership through 'I.P. for hire", the promotion, the market, but you can never be certain from whose mind the creative leap actually was sparked. The roles and contributions become blurred by the optics that descend through history. The hiring process yet today has no quantifiable means of discerning creative intelligence which is the root of true innovation. We are now knee deep in generations of excellent imitators and information echo'ers - the Googler Schmooglers. True creativity spawns from the deep, not so much from the mere abundance of shallow knowledge in conjunction with an advanced capability to imitate and repeat.
"You can never be certain from whose mind the creative leap actually was sparked" - you're right Mike.
Great piece on Edison’s socket- I half expected a foray into the wonder of knob and tube wiring still working in some barns - Keep up the fascinating threads!
That would indeed be super interesting Steve!
When and where I lived, radio went off the air at sundown. With decent weather, we could still listen to WLS from Chicago. There was no TV, not until I was about 12 or 13, and then it was one network or later two, and it went on at about 4:00 pm and off before midnight. I lived in a house with no inside bathroom; there was an outhouse. We did have electricity and a refrigerator. The furnace was run by burning coal, which I had to shovel in (and later take the clinkers out). In the winter, my bedroom often had frost on the floor. Granted, this is rural hinterlands and not anywhere near a major metropolitan area; Green Bay was almost 200 miles away. But this was the USA in the mid-50s. The dictionary definition of "computer" was "a person who computes".
Amazing Bruce. What’s a clinker?
Clinkers are what's left after the coal has burned. It's typically glassy, brittle chunks. We used it as grit for sidewalks and the city used it on roads in winter, since clinkers were free and salt cost money. Alas, now we know that clinkers are rich sources of heavy metal pollution and should have been sequestered.
Very interesting, well written article. It is arguable that standard of living and life style in the year 1900 had more in common with ancient Rome than it did with the year 2000. I would love to see what the year 2100 will bring.
Me too John!
This article reminds me of this:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centennial_Light
What a great story!
This is really heartwarming article. I like the way you presented things that we take for granted.
Thank you Syyed!
EXCELENTE
Great piece and very nicely illustrated.
Thanks so much Manuel!
For some reason this piece made me think of the book Factfulness which tries to balance the plethora of bad news with facts and perspective.
Lewis Lattimer actually made the filament which actually allows this invention to work. The early corporations then built in planned obsolescence so that the build would burn out. We all live in the Matrix so it would seem. Yes Edison was a great inventor BUT his early filaments would burn out almost daily! Of course these types of praise rarely are shown throughout history (oh I wonder why?)
https://www.history.com/news/8-black-inventors-african-american