in reply to Re: Who is your favorite scientist and why?
in thread Who is your favorite scientist and why?

I agree with you; Tesla was an amazing man.

But I disagree with the narrative you linked in one respect: having an earth-shattering, world-changing idea, but forgetting to write it down is really dumb.

Having a raft of of them, but failing to have the nounce to employ a doucheXXX to monetize them for you, is really, really dumb.

My Dad's favorite aphorism: it takes all sorts to make the world.

With the rise and rise of 'Social' network sites: 'Computers are making people easier to use everyday'
Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
"Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority". The enemy of (IT) success is complexity.
In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice. Suck that fhit
  • Comment on Re^2: Who is your favorite scientist and why?

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Re^3: Who is your favorite scientist and why?
by iguanodon (Priest) on Aug 29, 2017 at 00:52 UTC
    I hear you. I love The Oatmeal but that is only one side of the story. By all accounts Tesla was an odd duck, a brilliant scientist but not a good business man.

[reply]
      By all accounts Tesla was an odd duck

      It seems to be a fairly common trait among the truly gifted men of history -- not so much amongst the gifted women to my knowledge.

      With the rise and rise of 'Social' network sites: 'Computers are making people easier to use everyday'
      Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
      "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority". The enemy of (IT) success is complexity.
      In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice. Suck that fhit
[reply]
Re^3: Who is your favorite scientist and why?
by karlgoethebier (Abbot) on Aug 29, 2017 at 06:44 UTC
    "...Tesla was an amazing man."

    But he came to a miserable end:

    "...just ten or twelve feet away from us there was this old man feeding the pigeons. He was standing up, and the birds were fluttering all around him, landing on his head and arms, dozens of cooing pigeons, shitting on his clothes and eating out of his hands, and the old man kept talking to them, calling the birds his darlings, his sweethearts, his angels." (Thomas Effing about Tesla in the novel "Moon Palace" by Paul Auster)

    May be that this is yet another fake, who knows ;-)

    «The Crux of the Biscuit is the Apostrophe»

    perl -MCrypt::CBC -E 'say Crypt::CBC->new(-key=>'kgb',-cipher=>"Blowfish")->decrypt_hex($ENV{KARL});'Help

[reply]
[d/l]
      he came to a miserable end

      Indeed. And he wasn't the first, nor I suspect, will he be the last.

      I was just reading about another brilliant man who's invention should have changed the world; but time, place and circumstance mean that it did not and he died in less than salubrious circumstances.

      With the rise and rise of 'Social' network sites: 'Computers are making people easier to use everyday'
      Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
      "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority". The enemy of (IT) success is complexity.
      In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice. Suck that fhit
[reply]

        Some links for the uninitiated:

        I guess the design was good precision engineering. The device is still available on ebay for about € 1000. And the story is really unbelievable.

        Update: It looks like reality was better than Steven Spielberg in this case.

        Best regards, Karl

        «The Crux of the Biscuit is the Apostrophe»

        perl -MCrypt::CBC -E 'say Crypt::CBC->new(-key=>'kgb',-cipher=>"Blowfish")->decrypt_hex($ENV{KARL});'Help

[reply]
[d/l]
Re^3: Who is your favorite scientist and why?
by Anonymous Monk on Aug 28, 2017 at 19:36 UTC

    Mr ++Tesla didn't write them down because greedy people wanted his ideas for their own monetary gain.

[reply]

      ...which were effectively taken for monetization as he had known.

[reply]

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