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Even geniuses can be stupid

Even geniuses can be stupid

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by: Retired_Engineer Active Indicator LED Icon 13 OP 
~ 9 years ago   Aug 24, '14 11:09pm  
I ran across a web site that had some quotes from very smart people.  I'll post a few here.Ummm, 64 bits is now the norm!Boy, was he wrong!And that was in 1961.Just five years later, the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 chose Westinghouse's AC lights over Edison's and General Electric's DC system.  It was the largest use of electric lighting to that date.  It's use at the fair resulted in an acceleration of installing AC systems in this country.  If they had used the inferior DC current, this country might have headed in that direction for decades until they realized the mistake. Thomas Edison was a smart guy, but he was a better business man than inventor.  He supported DC current.  He frequently used AC current to publicly electrocute animals (including an elephant) to show how dangerous it was.  When Westinghouse won the bid to light the 1893 Chicago World's Fair (above), Edison threw a fit and refused to allow Westinghouse to use his lightbulbs.  Westinghouse responded by redesigning a light bulb that was better and cheaper than Edisons.  BTW:  Contrary to our elementary school teachings, Edison did NOT invent the incandescent light bulb.  He simply improved the design, which made it commercially practical.  If you want to know about a REAL GENIUS, read about Nikola Tesla.  The world is just starting to understand the true genius of the man and of his inventions.  p.s. If Edison's DC current had gained favor, we would have had to have DC generators (called dynamos) every few miles.  DC is a wonderful force when used in appropriate devices (cars, flashlights, etc), but it is not practical for widespread residential use. 4951
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fcabanski Active Indicator LED Icon 16
~ 9 years ago   Aug 24, '14 11:11pm  
" He simply improved the design, which made it commercially practical. "Yeah, but I still think that's inventing the light bulb.  A bulb that isn't commercially practical is of no use. 4951
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Retired_Engineer Active Indicator LED Icon 13 OP 
~ 9 years ago   Aug 24, '14 11:37pm  
" He simply improved the design, which made it commercially practical. "Yeah, but I still think that's inventing the light bulb.  A bulb that isn't commercially practical is of no use.
 
@fcabanski:  Then Westinghouse should get the credit for inventing the light bulb because it was even better and more practical?  Or maybe the people that invented the fluorescent bulb should get the credit for inventing the first light bulb because it was more efficient than incandescent?  Or the inventor of the LED light bulb because it's even more efficient than fluorescent?  Each were better and commercially practical.  According to your logic, no inventor should get credit for an invention or discovery unless it is commercially practical?!?Bah humbug.  Edison was simply over-rated.
4951
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ProblemAgain Active Indicator LED Icon 10
~ 9 years ago   Aug 25, '14 1:20am  

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>> " He simply improved the design, which made it commercially practical. "Yeah, but I still think that's inventing the light bulb.  A bulb that isn't commercially practical is of no use.
 
@fcabanski:  Then Westinghouse should get the credit for inventing the light bulb because it was even better and more practical?  Or maybe the people that invented the fluorescent bulb should get the credit for inventing the first light bulb because it was more efficient than incandescent?  Or the inventor of the LED light bulb because it's even more efficient than fluorescent?  Each were better and commercially practical.  According to your logic, no inventor should get credit for an invention or discovery unless it is commercially practical?!?Bah humbug.  Edison was simply over-rated.
 
@Retired_Engineer: remember the source....cheezdoodles and delusions...but think of the history books which would need to be updated as to whoinvented what anytime someone improved an existing design....oh wait....texas...we rewrite history all the time!
4951
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fcabanski Active Indicator LED Icon 16
~ 9 years ago   Aug 25, '14 1:34am  
Edison's was the first commercially viable light bulb.  Saying the first commercially viable light bulb is the invention is not saying each improvement is the invention. 4951
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shodan66 Active Indicator LED Icon 15
~ 9 years ago   Aug 25, '14 10:20am  
Edison was good at marketing and otherwise reported to be sort of a horrible human being.  Matthew Inman at theoatmeal.com has a pro-Tesla entry that's pretty funny and bashes the crap out of Edison.  Definitely worth the read:  http://theoatmeal.com/comics/teslaBack to the original topic...  I'm not sure I'd call any of these quotes "stupid" as much as "short-sighted".  The first couple of quotes...how could anyone possibly have foreseen the explosion of the computer/internet in our everyday lives?  It would have been like predicting the Industrial Revolution in 1700.The next two...both dealing with aerospace that again, exploded after their time.  If you put yourself in Lord Kelvin's shoes, it had been nearly 400 years since Da Vinci's idea of a "air screw" and no one had solved the puzzle yet.  He had no possible way of knowing we'd unlock that box around the time of his death.And Edison....yeah...he was just an idiot.   4951
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elguapo Active Indicator LED Icon 15
~ 9 years ago   Aug 25, '14 10:48am  
Didn't Edison burn Tesla's shi! Down out of spite.
4951
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FoFa Active Indicator LED Icon 17
~ 9 years ago   Aug 25, '14 11:01am  
I have found over the years, a lot of really smart people for some reason, have no common sense.They maybe smart and really good at what they do, but for whatever reason, common sense seems lacking.And I don't mean the occasional dumb attack everyone seems to encounter from time to time, I mean as an everyday occurrence by them. 4951
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Retired_Engineer Active Indicator LED Icon 13 OP 
~ 9 years ago   Aug 25, '14 11:36am  
I have found over the years, a lot of really smart people for some reason, have no common sense.They maybe smart and really good at what they do, but for whatever reason, common sense seems lacking.
 
@FoFa:  Very true.  A good friend from high school was extremely smart but had little common sense.  He could discuss very complex issues with competence, but he frequently ran out of gas in his car.  One time, we were headed into town and he asked me to swing by a Burger King because he was starving.  A few minutes later, as I pulled into the Burger King, he asked why we were stopping.  I had to remind him he was starving.  He went to LSU to be an electrical engineer.  However, he flunked out. He took too much time on tests and would never finish.  The questions he answered were almost always correct, but he would dwell on every little thing.  I used to kid him that he would over-think the answer to 2+2.  He ended up being an electrician and then eventually became a supervisor and electric power designer.  He still sometimes runs out of gas.
4951
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