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The Extraordinary Life of Nikola Tesla

smithsonianmag.com

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Re: The Extraordinary Life of Nikola Tesla

#101

Post by WalterBright »

asmithmd1 wrote: post #79
hyperpallium wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

funfact: though Elon Musk has a company named after Tesla, in an interview, he has said Edison is the better role model. e.g. It's not that Edison invented a light bulb - he created the first power grid. It's like inventing an internet client, and the internet.

Edison invented the first corporate R&D lab that spun inventions out into companies: Light bulb and wiring - GE phonograph - National Phonograph Company

Don't forget the audio recording industry, electric car batteries, mining advancements, the carbon telephone microphone, innumerable major advances in telegraphy, the electric power utility, etc.

Re: The Extraordinary Life of Nikola Tesla

#102

Post by 8bitsrule »

acqq wrote: post #16

Something most authors don’t mention, but I’ve read in the book by Andy Kessler: (1): Apparently Tesla not only invented the first electronical wirelessly controlled battery powered device, he also invented the first electronic ligical circuit then, the author claimed, all in year 1899. 1) “How We Got Here: A Slightly Irreverent History of Technology and Markets”

For more information on that 'device', look hard at the tech used in his 1898 demo of his remote-controlled boat at an expo in Madison Square Garden. The boat and remote combined several amazing innovations. Technically it's on the same level as Englebart's demo.

Re: The Extraordinary Life of Nikola Tesla

#103

Post by dcwca »

matte_black wrote: post #75
wellboy wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you're saying we should give eugenics a try?

Why not really? It doesn’t affect anyone currently alive and only helps promote better genes, which is what the human race is doing now anyway, but very inefficiently. I’d like to see it happen. The only thing that gives me pause is what if we accidentally make humans with critical genetic flaws we did not see coming, or low genetic diversity.

Because it leads to human rights atrocities, and there is no way to define “better” genes objectively.

Re: The Extraordinary Life of Nikola Tesla

#104

Post by WalterBright »

Aloha wrote: post #94
glossbar wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you meet him? How would you know he was an ahole? Just asking, as I see this far too much. Is Elon an ahole? Is Gates an ahole?

I don't need to meet him - his contemporaries speak enough about his manner, and way of doing business for me to feel okay making the pronouncement - bear in mind, many of my closest friends are an asshole much the way, edison, gates and jobs are/were - being an asshole does not make you a bad person - it just means you may have little patience for convention.

Keep in mind that Edison was constantly being sued by his rivals (Edison nearly always won). Any successful businessman is going to have legions of detractors.

Re: The Extraordinary Life of Nikola Tesla

#105

Post by matte_black »

dcwca wrote: post #103
matte_black wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not really? It doesn’t affect anyone currently alive and only helps promote better genes, which is what the human race is doing now anyway, but very inefficiently. I’d like to see it happen. The only thing that gives me pause is what if we accidentally make humans with critical genetic flaws we did not see coming, or low genetic diversity.

Because it leads to human rights atrocities, and there is no way to define “better” genes objectively.

Eugenics doesn’t inherently lead to human rights violations.

You can define better genes objectively by looking at genes of people that live the longest and with the least health issues. Natural selection is poor at selecting for traits that lead to longevity.

Re: The Extraordinary Life of Nikola Tesla

#107

Post by grzm »

LearnerHerzog wrote: post #106
LearnerHerzog wrote: post #13

the magnetic field strength of MRI scanners is measured in Teslas Interesting

May I ask why this comment gets downvoted... without getting downvoted?

Speculation, but likely because it doesn't add much to the conversation. For questions like this, it's useful to review other comments that have been downvoted and appraise them with the guidelines at hand. It won't be perfect, as members may downvote for any number of reasons not mentioned in the guidelines (or for no reason at all).

Re: The Extraordinary Life of Nikola Tesla

#108

Post by rapind »

NhanH wrote: post #76
jeffwass wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might feel differently if the state decided you don’t meet the minimum requirements for permission to breed.

Your comment doesn't contain an argument, and it is even attacking a strawman as the GP did explicitly call out non-compulsory as an aspect of it. But I will bite anyway. Taken GP's reasoning to the extreme, what do you think if the state prohibit someone from having children if (hypothetically) it is known at 100% certainty that their offsprings will inherit a horrible genetic diseases that causes pain and suffering…

Bit too big brother for me... and very short sighted. Diversity in both genetics and environment have been essential to survival and evolution. Haven't we already proven that monoculture is a bad thing in the long term? I'm reminded of the bananas from the 60s...

We're not nearly competent enough yet to play god at this level. It's scary knowing there are egos chomping at the bit to do it.

Re: The Extraordinary Life of Nikola Tesla

#109

Post by rapind »

matte_black wrote: post #105
dcwca wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it leads to human rights atrocities, and there is no way to define “better” genes objectively.

Eugenics doesn’t inherently lead to human rights violations. You can define better genes objectively by looking at genes of people that live the longest and with the least health issues. Natural selection is poor at selecting for traits that lead to longevity.

Because longevity isn't essential to our survival. You're suggesting that diverting energy away from other traits in favour of longevity would have no negative impact.

IMO there are all sorts of possible negative side effects that might emerge. Like a longer life making us more cautious, individualistic, and short sighted (not personally but on a species scale). You could argue this is already happening due to environmental comforts and medical advances. In fact dramatically tweaking a trait like longevity for a new generation would likely have a massive impact on their personality and culture... talk about a generation gap.

Re: The Extraordinary Life of Nikola Tesla

#110

Post by dcwca »

matte_black wrote: post #105
dcwca wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it leads to human rights atrocities, and there is no way to define “better” genes objectively.

Eugenics doesn’t inherently lead to human rights violations. You can define better genes objectively by looking at genes of people that live the longest and with the least health issues. Natural selection is poor at selecting for traits that lead to longevity.

> Eugenics doesn’t inherently lead to human rights violations

Right, but it does in practice.

What if we found that Japanese people lived the longest? Would we only allow Japanese to breed? Or bias towards them? How would you qualify how “Japanese” someone’s genes are?

Can you not see how this leads to a toxic culture of racism?

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