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I can't understand why the writer is reacting so much to the comic Because the comic is spreading non-sense as it is clearly evidenced in the article? I don't

by stiff 14y ago

I can't understand why the writer is reacting so much to the comic Because the comic is spreading non-sense as it is clearly evidenced in the article? I don't believe Edison could spell Tesla on his best day This is exactly the attitude I believe the article is opposed to, that I personally find naive as well - mythologizing people and single contributions and making science/engineering look like a game of who is more awesome. This is a conception that some popular science writing installs in many people and that could easily be cured by tracking the long history of many things we consider simple, in which at least tens of people contributed ideas that made the final invention tick. The article sums it up very well: First of all, I’d contend that nearly every invention in the engineering or sciences is an improvement on what has come before – such as Tesla’s improvements to alternating current. That’s what innovation is. It’s a social process that occurs in a social context.

j45 14y ago
It may be naive but I think the best science and creation happens in a mindset of creativity, imagination, possibility and experimentation instead of doubt. Tesla clearly invented things that did not exist before him, and also improved other things. To me, those are on an order of magnitude different.
- stiff 14y ago
  So did Edison. It might very well be that Edison would not be able to spell Tesla at his best but also that Tesla would not be able to spell Edison at his best. The point is they both made very valuable contributions using their unique talents, we build upon the work of both of them today and there is no need to turn it into some sort of competition. There is no meaningful way to compare creative achievements anyway. The article has this right in some places, to be fair in others it really seems biased in the opposite direction to the comic.
  - j45 14y ago
    I'm not really making it a competition, or a comparison. The comic did. The writer did too. I don't mean to fuel a comparison either, but that's what's being discussed. Instead of simply giving an opinion, I listed why I believe Tesla has more of an impact on my life every day today than Edison. It's cool if others feel different.
  - j45 14y ago
    I'm not really making it a competition, or a comparison. The comic did. The writer did too. I don't mean to fuel a comparison either, but that's what's being discussed. Instead of simply giving an opinion, I listed why I believe Tesla has more of an impact on my life every day today than Edison. It's cool if others feel different.
haberman 14y ago
I don't even really care if Edison invented anything or not, because he was a douchebag. I don't even care if he ultimately believed AC was dangerous, advocating its use in electric chairs and electrocuting animals publicly is an attempt to use FUD and hysteria to win an argument that he was apparently unable to win by civilized means (and for good reason, because he was wrong). Also, his aggressive filing of patents doesn't exactly endear me to him either. He held 1,093 patents at his death; did he really invent 1,093 things? He seems to have been an early player in the game of patenting every incremental improvement to everything, which as we see in software hinders rather than promotes "the progress of science and useful art."
- f45s8g2 14y ago
  I think you might be right that he was an early player of a patent filing game that has grown to become rather controversial in some spheres, namely software. The only way to know, besides being alive at that time, is to do the historical research. Can you recommend any primary sources to learn more about this history (besides the patents themelves)? It sounds like you have read some? On the bright side, not everyone took the Edison approach. Are you familiar with the history of Hans Bessemer and his approach to patents?
- JumpCrisscross 14y ago
  >I don't even really care if Edison invented anything or not, because he was a douchebag This is a textbook case of argumentum ad hominem. You may not care for what he did but that doesn't change the fact that he did it.
  - haberman 14y ago
    Ad hominem would be "a douche like that could never have invented anything." What I'm saying is "he was a douche so I don't care if he invented anything."

by stiff 14y ago

j45 14y ago

It may be naive but I think the best science and creation happens in a mindset of creativity, imagination, possibility and experimentation instead of doubt. Tesla clearly invented things that did not exist before him, and also improved other things. To me, those are on an order of magnitude different.

stiff 14y ago
So did Edison. It might very well be that Edison would not be able to spell Tesla at his best but also that Tesla would not be able to spell Edison at his best. The point is they both made very valuable contributions using their unique talents, we build upon the work of both of them today and there is no need to turn it into some sort of competition. There is no meaningful way to compare creative achievements anyway. The article has this right in some places, to be fair in others it really seems biased in the opposite direction to the comic.
- j45 14y ago
  I'm not really making it a competition, or a comparison. The comic did. The writer did too. I don't mean to fuel a comparison either, but that's what's being discussed. Instead of simply giving an opinion, I listed why I believe Tesla has more of an impact on my life every day today than Edison. It's cool if others feel different.
- j45 14y ago
  I'm not really making it a competition, or a comparison. The comic did. The writer did too. I don't mean to fuel a comparison either, but that's what's being discussed. Instead of simply giving an opinion, I listed why I believe Tesla has more of an impact on my life every day today than Edison. It's cool if others feel different.

haberman 14y ago

I don't even really care if Edison invented anything or not, because he was a douchebag. I don't even care if he ultimately believed AC was dangerous, advocating its use in electric chairs and electrocuting animals publicly is an attempt to use FUD and hysteria to win an argument that he was apparently unable to win by civilized means (and for good reason, because he was wrong). Also, his aggressive filing of patents doesn't exactly endear me to him either. He held 1,093 patents at his death; did he really invent 1,093 things? He seems to have been an early player in the game of patenting every incremental improvement to everything, which as we see in software hinders rather than promotes "the progress of science and useful art."

f45s8g2 14y ago
I think you might be right that he was an early player of a patent filing game that has grown to become rather controversial in some spheres, namely software. The only way to know, besides being alive at that time, is to do the historical research. Can you recommend any primary sources to learn more about this history (besides the patents themelves)? It sounds like you have read some? On the bright side, not everyone took the Edison approach. Are you familiar with the history of Hans Bessemer and his approach to patents?
JumpCrisscross 14y ago
>I don't even really care if Edison invented anything or not, because he was a douchebag This is a textbook case of argumentum ad hominem. You may not care for what he did but that doesn't change the fact that he did it.
- haberman 14y ago
  Ad hominem would be "a douche like that could never have invented anything." What I'm saying is "he was a douche so I don't care if he invented anything."