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It's a bit encouraging to read about Edison's flops too. All my failures have just been preparation! One was a kind of 1890 Optimus, dolls he called "little mon

by delichon 11mo ago

It's a bit encouraging to read about Edison's flops too. All my failures have just been preparation! One was a kind of 1890 Optimus, dolls he called "little monsters" with a built in miniature phonograph. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edison%27s_Phonograph_Doll https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edison%27s_Phonograph_Doll I am impressed by how much of commercial success is a matter of the product's tastefulness. Chamath Palihapitiya said this and I have to agree. It is easy to Dunning-Kruger your business to death without it.

estimator7292 11mo ago
Edison is widely (and deservedly) considered to be an asshole on par with Musk. Neither should be idolized.
- silexia 11mo ago
  Edison was one of the greatest humans who ever lived and contributed more to all of us than any other person in the last millenia. It's popular on the far left to try armchair criticize the greatest humans, but it doesn't alter the facts. Thomas Edison's biggest inventions include the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph, and the motion picture camera. He also created the first commercial electric light and power system and is credited with improvements to the telephone, most notably the carbon microphone.
  - senordevnyc 11mo ago
    What qualifies someone as “one of the greatest humans who ever lived” is very subjective, particularly when their inventions would have been invented around the same time by someone else if they hadn’t done so.
  - array_key_first 11mo ago
    Humans are multi-faceted, and can be good at some things but really, really bad at others. For example, Elon Musk is really good at marketing his products, but he is extraordinarily bad at being a father. There are many men in prison who are better fathers.
  - almostgotcaught 11mo ago
    > one of the greatest humans I can't fathom being this exaltant about some dead guy I've never met who supposedly manufactured some stuff (like you realize he wasn't a scientist and was primarily a businessman). Where does this kind of sycophancy/worship come from? Like do you have to be bread to think this way or did your parents inculcate it in you? Or did you come to it on your own? Are you religious too? Is that where it comes from (tendency to worship)?

estimator7292 11mo ago

Edison is widely (and deservedly) considered to be an asshole on par with Musk. Neither should be idolized.

silexia 11mo ago
Edison was one of the greatest humans who ever lived and contributed more to all of us than any other person in the last millenia. It's popular on the far left to try armchair criticize the greatest humans, but it doesn't alter the facts. Thomas Edison's biggest inventions include the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph, and the motion picture camera. He also created the first commercial electric light and power system and is credited with improvements to the telephone, most notably the carbon microphone.
- senordevnyc 11mo ago
  What qualifies someone as “one of the greatest humans who ever lived” is very subjective, particularly when their inventions would have been invented around the same time by someone else if they hadn’t done so.
- array_key_first 11mo ago
  Humans are multi-faceted, and can be good at some things but really, really bad at others. For example, Elon Musk is really good at marketing his products, but he is extraordinarily bad at being a father. There are many men in prison who are better fathers.
- almostgotcaught 11mo ago
  > one of the greatest humans I can't fathom being this exaltant about some dead guy I've never met who supposedly manufactured some stuff (like you realize he wasn't a scientist and was primarily a businessman). Where does this kind of sycophancy/worship come from? Like do you have to be bread to think this way or did your parents inculcate it in you? Or did you come to it on your own? Are you religious too? Is that where it comes from (tendency to worship)?