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I never liked Edison. He always came off as a simple and lucky hack; just a businessman, while Tesla was the genius and inventor the world still owes all to.

angstrom 15y ago
All the more reason it would be funny if every car on the road in the future carries the advances of a company named for him.
- zotz 15y ago
  History is on infinite repeat, unless....: Tesla Plunges After Morgan Stanley Reduces Automaker’s Price Target by 37% http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/tesla-plunges-after-morgan-stanley-reduces-price-target-by-37-.html http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/tesla-plunges-after...
  - angstrom 15y ago
    I see no electrocuted elephants. There's nothing wrong with changing expectations to match reality. I think the short term expectations might dampen, but the long term expectations are still intact. Oil refineries aren't being built to meet demand because the refiners know it's a finite resource. Prices will rise and hold and when they do it will force a switch, but the technology will be ready.
nextparadigms 15y ago
Remember how many compared Steve Jobs to Edison when he died? Maybe they weren't so wrong after all.
- ralfd 15y ago
  Well, this (quote from Wikipedia)… > Tesla was widely known for his great showmanship, presenting his innovations and demonstrations to the public as an artform, almost like a magician. This seems to conflict with his observed reclusiveness; Tesla was a complicated figure. … seems pretty Jobsian to me. And you bet when Bill Gates is dead (hopefully far far away in the future) he will also be compared to Edison. Because, maybe, these kind of comparison just doesn't make sense. Because great men and times are most of the times not alike. Because we are just stupid with our stupid simplifications. Geeks and Nerds have certainly a hard on for Tesla, the misunderstood underdog, with all his complicated character of scientific genius and OCD/phobia/celibacy. But I wouldn't diminish the achievements of Edison. And Edison was (surprisiningly) never one of the super-rich of his time. There is a reason he needed J.P.Morgan. He only had shares in companies, but never controlled them, even if they did bear his name.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
salemh 15y ago
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1143601 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1143601 better: Edison is notably overrated. While he does deserve some credit, his approach to R&D was infamously brute-force. Tesla noted, “If Edison had a needle to find in a haystack, he would proceed at once with the diligence of the bee to examine straw after straw until he found the object of his search. I was a sorry witness of such doings, knowing that a little theory and calculation would have saved him ninety per cent of his labor.” He also infamously took credit for the inventions of his employees--the long and impressive list of things Edison invented is really a long and impressive list of things invented at Edison's lab. While it's hard to argue with success, not every successful man should be a figure of unquestioned admiration. Edison was famous in his day, and remains famous today, because he had the best PR and marketing in the business.

angstrom 15y ago

All the more reason it would be funny if every car on the road in the future carries the advances of a company named for him.

zotz 15y ago
History is on infinite repeat, unless....: Tesla Plunges After Morgan Stanley Reduces Automaker’s Price Target by 37% http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/tesla-plunges-after-morgan-stanley-reduces-price-target-by-37-.html http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/tesla-plunges-after...
- angstrom 15y ago
  I see no electrocuted elephants. There's nothing wrong with changing expectations to match reality. I think the short term expectations might dampen, but the long term expectations are still intact. Oil refineries aren't being built to meet demand because the refiners know it's a finite resource. Prices will rise and hold and when they do it will force a switch, but the technology will be ready.

nextparadigms 15y ago

Remember how many compared Steve Jobs to Edison when he died? Maybe they weren't so wrong after all.

ralfd 15y ago
Well, this (quote from Wikipedia)… > Tesla was widely known for his great showmanship, presenting his innovations and demonstrations to the public as an artform, almost like a magician. This seems to conflict with his observed reclusiveness; Tesla was a complicated figure. … seems pretty Jobsian to me. And you bet when Bill Gates is dead (hopefully far far away in the future) he will also be compared to Edison. Because, maybe, these kind of comparison just doesn't make sense. Because great men and times are most of the times not alike. Because we are just stupid with our stupid simplifications. Geeks and Nerds have certainly a hard on for Tesla, the misunderstood underdog, with all his complicated character of scientific genius and OCD/phobia/celibacy. But I wouldn't diminish the achievements of Edison. And Edison was (surprisiningly) never one of the super-rich of his time. There is a reason he needed J.P.Morgan. He only had shares in companies, but never controlled them, even if they did bear his name.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

salemh 15y ago

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1143601 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1143601 better: Edison is notably overrated. While he does deserve some credit, his approach to R&D was infamously brute-force. Tesla noted, “If Edison had a needle to find in a haystack, he would proceed at once with the diligence of the bee to examine straw after straw until he found the object of his search. I was a sorry witness of such doings, knowing that a little theory and calculation would have saved him ninety per cent of his labor.” He also infamously took credit for the inventions of his employees--the long and impressive list of things Edison invented is really a long and impressive list of things invented at Edison's lab. While it's hard to argue with success, not every successful man should be a figure of unquestioned admiration. Edison was famous in his day, and remains famous today, because he had the best PR and marketing in the business.