Poll: Tesla vs Edison

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: IAteYourMother
edison invented the light bulb.

No. Edison *patented* the light bulb. While he worked on developing an incandescent lightbulb, despite what the 3rd grade science books imply, it wasn't Edison acting on his own in a stroke of genius.

Then of course, Edison gets all the "inspiring" quotes.
"I haven't failed 700 times. I've simply found 700 ways that don't work."
Or something like that. I wonder what Tesla would have done. Perhaps, "I've calculated 50 ways that don't work. Then I experimented with the way that should have worked, and it did. Think first, then act." Or so I imagine.


Wouldn't it be hilarious then to find out that his "issue" with touching round things actually had some merit?
"Cancer immunization discovered! Stop touching round things!"

 

[BrownTown]

Despite voting for Tesla in this poll I am feeling that alot of y'all are selling Edison a little short here, he was an incredible inventor AND businessman. People here seem to dislike him because of his business practices, but you have to remember that comming up with a great idea is only half the battle, you also have to get the funding for it and get people to understand why they need it. While you might say other people were working on the same thing Edison was or may have came up with the idea first, it was Edison who actually got other people to buy into them and he deserves a HUGE amount of credit for it. Our world is a better place because of what Edison accomplished.

 

[Fenixgoon]

i voted for tesla, considering he won (as far as electricity goes)

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Tesla coils...Command and Conquer FTW

 

[SirStev0]

Tesla was a little nuts and kind of a dick... but he was a genius and really got the short end of the stick in the epic battle. Plus he started designing a super deathray. He wins.

 

[IAteYourMother]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: IAteYourMother
edison invented the light bulb.

No. Edison *patented* the light bulb. While he worked on developing an incandescent lightbulb, despite what the 3rd grade science books imply, it wasn't Edison acting on his own in a stroke of genius.

fine, he designed a commercially viable lightbulb.

 

[BrownTown]

As per the lightbulb tons of other people were working on the same thing, but Edison actually came up with one that didn't burn out so quickly it was worthless. So no its not like he just pulled the idea of a light bulb out his ass, he was just the first person to get one that was good enough to be worth using. The good old phrase "genius is 1 part inspiration and 99 parts perspiration" applies perfectly to this endevour, Edison literally tested Thousands of different materials before coming up with one that worked, it wasn't some stroke of genius that made the lightbulb work it was tons of hard work and a little luck finally coming up with the right materials first.

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: Goosemaster

Originally posted by: IAteYourMother
edison invented the light bulb.

that was one hell of an idea

In fact, it is the universal symbol FOR an idea!

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Who's papers got confiscated by the FBI when they died? Who is badass enough to let that happen? /thread

 

[Bootprint]

Originally posted by: IAteYourMother

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: IAteYourMother
edison invented the light bulb.

No. Edison *patented* the light bulb. While he worked on developing an incandescent lightbulb, despite what the 3rd grade science books imply, it wasn't Edison acting on his own in a stroke of genius.

fine, he designed a commercially viable lightbulb.

Part of it he might've designed but the carbon filament idea came from a patent he purchased.

 

[Molondo]

Originally posted by: ChAoTiCpInOy
Who's papers got confiscated by the FBI when they died? Who is badass enough to let that happen? /thread

 

[Auric]

Originally posted by: IAteYourMother

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: IAteYourMother
edison invented the light bulb.

No. Edison *patented* the light bulb. While he worked on developing an incandescent lightbulb, despite what the 3rd grade science books imply, it wasn't Edison acting on his own in a stroke of genius.

fine, he designed a commercially viable lightbulb.

:light: Bling!

Oh, and commercially viable could also mean good enough yet cheap enough to be practical/saleable but not so much that replacements aren't required before long. So-called "long-life" incandescent bulbs only became commonplace relatively recently.

Originally posted by: ChAoTiCpInOy
Who's papers got confiscated by the FBI when they died? Who is badass enough to let that happen? /thread

Indeed to the former and whaa to the latter.

Apparently, If I recall, there was concern about and interest in any plans for the death-ray which he had been pimping around.

 

[ViviTheMage]

T DAWG!

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: Bootprint

Originally posted by: IAteYourMother

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: IAteYourMother
edison invented the light bulb.

No. Edison *patented* the light bulb. While he worked on developing an incandescent lightbulb, despite what the 3rd grade science books imply, it wasn't Edison acting on his own in a stroke of genius.

fine, he designed a commercially viable lightbulb.

Part of it he might've designed but the carbon filament idea came from a patent he purchased.

So apparently:

Edison = Bill Gates (who made his first millions from marketing the DOS he purchased.)
Tesla = Steve Jobs and Wozniak. (Minus Jobs' business sense.)

Plus, did Bowie play Edison? I think not.

 

[Darwin333]

Originally posted by: ChAoTiCpInOy
Who's papers got confiscated by the FBI when they died? Who is badass enough to let that happen? /thread

There are still people today that believe that a "test run" of Tesla's prototype for transmiting wireless electricity at Wardenclyffe caused the world's largest man made explosion in the remote Siberian village of Tungusta.

That definately adds to the "badassness".

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Auric
:light: Bling!

Oh, and commercially viable could also mean good enough yet cheap enough to be practical/saleable but not so much that replacements aren't required before long. So-called "long-life" incandescent bulbs only became commonplace relatively recently.

Those old, low-wattage bulbs lasted MUCH longer than modern high-wattage bulbs.

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: ChAoTiCpInOy
Who's papers got confiscated by the FBI when they died? Who is badass enough to let that happen? /thread

No fuckin' clue.

 

[Auric]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
So apparently:

Edison = Bill Gates (who made his first millions from marketing the DOS he purchased.)
Tesla = Steve Jobs and Wozniak. (Minus Jobs' business sense.)

Plus, did Bowie play Edison? I think not.

I dig Edison = Gates multiplied by something or other and Tesla = Wozniak to the power of something or other but I don't see where Jobs enters into it. Jobs and that dude from Intel that financed them are together more akin to J.P. Morgan.

 

[MegaVovaN]

Originally posted by: Darwin333

Originally posted by: ChAoTiCpInOy
Who's papers got confiscated by the FBI when they died? Who is badass enough to let that happen? /thread

There are still people today that believe that a "test run" of Tesla's prototype for transmiting wireless electricity at Wardenclyffe caused the world's largest man made explosion in the remote Siberian village of Tungusta.

That definately adds to the "badassness".

Agreed. It was thought to be a meteorite but they never found meteorite particles.

 

[zinfamous]

David Bowie is so cool

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: Auric

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
So apparently:

Edison = Bill Gates (who made his first millions from marketing the DOS he purchased.)
Tesla = Steve Jobs and Wozniak. (Minus Jobs' business sense.)

Plus, did Bowie play Edison? I think not.

I dig Edison = Gates multiplied by something or other and Tesla = Wozniak to the power of something or other but I don't see where Jobs enters into it. Jobs and that dude from Intel that financed them are together more akin to J.P. Morgan.

Jobs gets his own crazy ideas he keeps working on even though they call him mad, like the Lisa, NeXT cube, Pixar, iPod plus iTunes, etc.

 

[nonameo]

Edison paid people to do crap for him.

 

[ranmaniac]

Tesla ftw! Those Tesla coils were quite handy in Command & Conquer.

 

[silverpig]

Tesla