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And here's one from Carl Sagan for a nice counterpoint: "The fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. T

And here's one from Carl Sagan for a nice counterpoint: "The fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown."

jokoon 12y ago
I kinda disagree with that, as anyone trying to do something new is being laughed at, in general. I don't really care about the ideas, it's just frustrating to be laughed at every time to want to try something new. There's always something dismissive, some jealousy, some surprised inability to be humble while facing something strange or new.
- hvs 12y ago
  It would probably be best to get over that frustration because it's human nature.
simonh 12y ago
To be fair, Columbus did underestimate the size of the Earth by about a factor of 2, and that was over 1500 years after Eratosthenes had calculated it to a reasonable degree of accuracy. A lot of the geographers laughing at him did so for that reason, not because they thought the Earth was flat. To his dying day he thought he'd sailed half way round the world to the East Indies. That's why we call those islands the West Indies, and call native american's Indians to this day. If the Americas hadn't been there, the expedition would have all died when the supplies ran out. Columbus wasn't right, he was lucky.
- melling 12y ago
  Larry Page told his advisor that he thought it would take 2 weeks to index the Internet. His advisor knew it would take a lot longer but didn't say anything. What were the names of those geographers?
  - dragonwriter 12y ago
    > What were the names of those geographers? Well, among them, Amerigo Vespucci, another Italian working for the Spanish crown. Contemporary of Columbus, traveling at the same time as Columbus later voyages. He's the one that first identified, or at least popularized, that the lands Columbus was still insisting were the East Indies were a "New World". Has a couple continents named after him.
- kamaal 12y ago
  >>Columbus did underestimate the size of the Earth by about a factor of 2 >>Columbus wasn't right, he was lucky. If Columbus had estimated it right, the sheer magnitude of task would have overwhelmed him from even trying. Getting into the game even by foolishness increased his chances of getting lucky by huge margin compared to the sailor who was sitting back at home in Spain. Sometimes you need to be the bozo the clown to be the best entertainer in the world.

jokoon 12y ago

I kinda disagree with that, as anyone trying to do something new is being laughed at, in general. I don't really care about the ideas, it's just frustrating to be laughed at every time to want to try something new. There's always something dismissive, some jealousy, some surprised inability to be humble while facing something strange or new.

hvs 12y ago
It would probably be best to get over that frustration because it's human nature.

simonh 12y ago

To be fair, Columbus did underestimate the size of the Earth by about a factor of 2, and that was over 1500 years after Eratosthenes had calculated it to a reasonable degree of accuracy. A lot of the geographers laughing at him did so for that reason, not because they thought the Earth was flat. To his dying day he thought he'd sailed half way round the world to the East Indies. That's why we call those islands the West Indies, and call native american's Indians to this day. If the Americas hadn't been there, the expedition would have all died when the supplies ran out. Columbus wasn't right, he was lucky.

melling 12y ago
Larry Page told his advisor that he thought it would take 2 weeks to index the Internet. His advisor knew it would take a lot longer but didn't say anything. What were the names of those geographers?
- dragonwriter 12y ago
  > What were the names of those geographers? Well, among them, Amerigo Vespucci, another Italian working for the Spanish crown. Contemporary of Columbus, traveling at the same time as Columbus later voyages. He's the one that first identified, or at least popularized, that the lands Columbus was still insisting were the East Indies were a "New World". Has a couple continents named after him.
kamaal 12y ago
>>Columbus did underestimate the size of the Earth by about a factor of 2 >>Columbus wasn't right, he was lucky. If Columbus had estimated it right, the sheer magnitude of task would have overwhelmed him from even trying. Getting into the game even by foolishness increased his chances of getting lucky by huge margin compared to the sailor who was sitting back at home in Spain. Sometimes you need to be the bozo the clown to be the best entertainer in the world.