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Freedom of Information Release on Nikola Tesla (2011)

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Re: Freedom of Information Release on Nikola Tesla (2011)

#51

Post by [deleted] »

dmix wrote: post #42
pm90 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think its the fact that his children appear to be more or less in the same mold as himself that has colored people's opinions of the family. But yes, the family as a whole seems pretty well to do.

Very few children of billionaires become notable people themselves, outside of usually philanthropy or keeping the family business in much of it's original state (millionaires kids as well to a much lesser degree). There are some very clear human and biological reasons why. Even in the tech industry with hyper progressive parenting it's rare to hear about the kids outside of capital raising circles. Regardless I was…

[deleted]

Re: Freedom of Information Release on Nikola Tesla (2011)

#52

Post by freyir »

dmix wrote: post #42
pm90 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think its the fact that his children appear to be more or less in the same mold as himself that has colored people's opinions of the family. But yes, the family as a whole seems pretty well to do.

Very few children of billionaires become notable people themselves, outside of usually philanthropy or keeping the family business in much of it's original state (millionaires kids as well to a much lesser degree). There are some very clear human and biological reasons why. Even in the tech industry with hyper progressive parenting it's rare to hear about the kids outside of capital raising circles. Regardless I was…

> "Very few children of billionaires become notable people themselves"

First, billionaires represent an extremely small minority of the human population. And second, notable people also represent a small minority of the human population.

So it seems reasonable that there are few notable children of billionaires, and this alone doesn't imply that billionaire offspring are less likely to be notable than the person. It only suggests that being the offspring of billionaires doesn't radically skew the probability of being notable.

Re: Freedom of Information Release on Nikola Tesla (2011)

#54

Post by nulagrithom »

rm999 wrote: post #45
matteuan wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like the oatmeal, but that comic is just a collection of urban myths about Tesla. http://edisontechcenter.org/tesladebunked.html

> Mr. Inman [author of The Oatmeal], like many comedians seems to be fundamentally unhappy and finds an outlet through humor. Oddly enough his behavior is similar to Tesla's in that he reacts in a nasty fashion if someone challenges his ideas Yikes, got a less biased source? It's 2017, it's sad the emotional feud between Tesla and Edison continues like this.

Wow, the full text of that paragraph is even worse:

> Interestingly enough one of the largest sources of exaggerated Tesla history in the last few years was a cartoonist (Mr. Inman) who runs the website "The Oatmeal". A cartoonist (a guy with no engineering, legal or historian background) born in 1982 on the wrong side of the continent felt the liberty of making passionate statements about New York's electrical history based on crap he read on the internet. After a Forbes article by Alex Knapp about the myths of Tesla inspired by this Edison Tech Center article came out, the cartoonist attacks Knapp in the arrogant and cynical style typically demonstrated by the worst of US-born Millennials. Mr. Inman, like many comedians seems to be fundamentally unhappy and finds an outlet through humor. Oddly enough his behavior is similar to Tesla's in that he reacts in a nasty fashion if someone challenges his ideas, even when they mean well.

Re: Freedom of Information Release on Nikola Tesla (2011)

#56

Post by readhn »

mabbo wrote: post #50

It's important to keep in mind that near the end of his days, Tesla sure seemed to be experiencing some mental illness. He made wild claims that were never quite backed up by proof, claims that even now no one seems to believe were actually possible. It's a sad end to a brilliant mind. But then, when you're the FBI and WW2 is ongoing, you pay attention when a famous and brilliant inventor claims to have death rays an…

He made wild claims that were never quite backed up by proof, claims that even now no one seems to believe were actually possible -------

when Leonardo da vinci sketched out a parachute or a helicopter-looking self propelling device prototypes that took 500 years to actually build - what did contemporaries think of him?

who are we to judge a great mind? we simply cant. yes he might have gone mad, but there is a very fine line between madness and brilliance and its often blurred. all we can do is take these ideas and test/iterate/test. id rather bet on a horse that is capable of running than on a just born foal.

Re: Freedom of Information Release on Nikola Tesla (2011)

#57

Post by jonstaab »

For anyone interested in a really good biography on Tesla, this [0] is the best one I've read. It's written by John J. O'Neill, a journalist who knew Tesla personally for 30 years or so IIRC. It sticks to the facts, eschewing the various myths about aliens and such that tend to stick to him, and it covers his whole life, from what is known of his childhood all the way through his death. It's a super interesting read.

[0] https://www.amazon.com/Prodigal-Genius-Life-Nikola-Tesla-ebo...

Re: Freedom of Information Release on Nikola Tesla (2011)

#58

Post by cornchips »

dkfmn wrote: post #53

I don't have high hopes for historical accuracy but i'm excited to see The Current War which puts some of these topics to film: https://youtu.be/wMECv6yLOFM

I'm excited for another Weinstein ensemble, but we'll have wait http://variety.com/2017/film/news/the-current-war-postponed-... :-)

Re: Freedom of Information Release on Nikola Tesla (2011)

#59

Post by drzaiusapelord »

rm999 wrote: post #45
matteuan wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like the oatmeal, but that comic is just a collection of urban myths about Tesla. http://edisontechcenter.org/tesladebunked.html

> Mr. Inman [author of The Oatmeal], like many comedians seems to be fundamentally unhappy and finds an outlet through humor. Oddly enough his behavior is similar to Tesla's in that he reacts in a nasty fashion if someone challenges his ideas Yikes, got a less biased source? It's 2017, it's sad the emotional feud between Tesla and Edison continues like this.

You're cherrypicking the part of the document that addresses the comic and I do agree the tone could be more professional, but it a fairly serious rebuke of some pretty terrible claims. Ironically, when Hawkings, Linus, Dawkins, Hitchens, etc use the same tone, the tech community seems to not have any problems with it. The factual aspects of this page are pretty good and I'm hard pressed to find any issue here historically. I'm something of a amateur Edison-era historian, love this period, and feel that if we want to properly honor history and the lives of the people who more or less helped build the modern world, then we should be honest about the facts and park the fanboyism.

I do feel they gloss over the elephant electrocution and even by standards of that time was a bit shocking, even if there were almost no animal welfare laws. To be fair to Edison's group, this PR stunt was tasteless, but the elephant was already sentenced to death. My understanding is the alternative would have been a grisly shooting with an elephant gun which is far less humane than electrocution.

Again, the Oatmeal comic is pretty poor representation of the period. I understand its popular and ties in with Tesla fandom and an over-represented demographic on the web, but I think those honest about knowing what these men did should dismiss it and dig into more academic sources. This period is so exciting and interesting, its a shame a lot of youngsters grow up with a simple minded 'Tesla vs Edison' narrative which is such a stupid oversimplification of an amazing and progressive period in US history.

Re: Freedom of Information Release on Nikola Tesla (2011)

#60

Post by QAPereo »

readhn wrote: post #56
mabbo wrote: post #50

It's important to keep in mind that near the end of his days, Tesla sure seemed to be experiencing some mental illness. He made wild claims that were never quite backed up by proof, claims that even now no one seems to believe were actually possible. It's a sad end to a brilliant mind. But then, when you're the FBI and WW2 is ongoing, you pay attention when a famous and brilliant inventor claims to have death rays an…

He made wild claims that were never quite backed up by proof, claims that even now no one seems to believe were actually possible ------- when Leonardo da vinci sketched out a parachute or a helicopter-looking self propelling device prototypes that took 500 years to actually build - what did contemporaries think of him? who are we to judge a great mind? we simply cant. yes he might have gone mad, but there is a very…

when Leonardo da vinci sketched out a parachute or a helicopter-looking self propelling device prototypes that took 500 years to actually build - what did contemporaries think of him?

A lot; he was widely recognized as a genius in his own time. Sadly, his helicopter wouldn't have worked, and he never sketched an ICE.

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