In Praise of the Mad Scientist [Genius Inventor Nikola Tesla]

The Village Voice ^ | January 4th, 2005 | Samantha Hunt

[The Loan Arranger]

He truly was one of the great minds of the 19th & 20th centuries.

[fo0hzy]

I can never get enough of Tesla. If Hollywood knew how to make something besides a sequel or prequel, maybe they'd help spread his genius.

[fo0hzy]

Excellent article, BTW.

[Moonman62]

What a load of crap the entire the article is. Not only is it the usual Tesla-centered slam against capitalism, but it also takes a slam against president Bush and his decision to limit embryonic stem cell research. One should expect as much from the Village Voice.

[Moonman62]

I'd rather have another good movie about Thomas Edison. There hasn't been one in over 60 years.

[Moonman62]

Excellent article, BTW.

Especially if you don't mind them leaving out the part of Tesla making millions of dollars with George Westinghouse, because that would ruin their angle of slamming president Bush and capitalism in general.

[fo0hzy]

That, too.

ARE YOU LISTENING, MICHAEL MOORE????

Wait... strike that...

[fo0hzy]

WTF are you talking aboot?

Tesla died penniless. All of his papers were consficated.

[liberty2004]

at would ruin their angle of slamming president Bush and capitalism in general.

The Village Voice does not have one staff member who has any critical thinking skills. They are dominated by anti-Capitalistic Communists who are consumed with hating those who achieve great things and become rich in the process. I truly HATE all collectivists worldwide. The are truly one with SATAN.

[Moonman62]

Tesla died penniless. All of his papers were consficated.

He did die a pauper, but he was a millionare many times over at one time (probably worth close to a billion dollars in today's money). He lost all his money and all the money JP Morgan had invested in him chasing down the dream of wireless power distribution.

[fo0hzy]

http://foia.fbi.gov/tesla/tesla1.pdf

Indeed he gained wealth many times over with his inventions. But to say he exited this world a happy, rich man is pure fiction. He was forced to spend his wealth to prove himself, and to further his goals for his homeland, America. Tesla was a great Patriot; Marconi was a foreign thief of ideas.

I won't even mention your glib inclusion of the Bush name.

Marconi stole Tesla's thunder, not to mention his dream.

If Tesla had been able to chase his demons, who knows where we'd be this day.

[Darkwolf377]

Uh, Bush was mentioned in the article quite prominently--no poster mentioned it as a glib aside. The author of this article--which is like a rock tossed in the air, praising one man, then gradually falls and hits its real target, the slamming of another--did that.

[fo0hzy]

***Especially if you don't mind them leaving out the part of Tesla making millions of dollars with George Westinghouse, because that would ruin their angle of slamming president Bush and capitalism in general.***

I'm sorry, what?

[RadioAstronomer]

I built a seven foot high ten million volt Tesla Coil once. Lit it up (10 foot arcs) on a residential driveway. Cops showed up, neighbor lady called them, thought UFOs had landed. :-)

[fo0hzy]

Did you? I hope that's true. lol

[RadioAstronomer]

Completely true. I will add those pics to my home page. :-)

I am finally creating a home page after 4 years here LOL!.

[Darkwolf377]

***Especially if you don't mind them leaving out the part of Tesla making millions of dollars with George Westinghouse, because that would ruin their angle of slamming president Bush and capitalism in general.*** I'm sorry, what?"

Uh, did you actually READ the article?

Please go back and look at the final paragraphs of the actual article. THEN come back and tell me the other poster brought Bush into the discussion.

Word to the wise: Reading the article first will save you from embarassment in the future.

[Darkwolf377]

***Even more terrifying, scientists and inventors who cannot operate laboratories without government funding find themselves bound to a near medieval morality. President Bush, in an August 2001 speech delivered at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, stated, "I'm a strong supporter of science and technology, and believe they have the potential for incredible good—to improve lives, to save life, to conquer disease." But he then followed up that statement by saying, "I also believe human life is a sacred gift from our Creator," and, "I have made this decision [to curb the types of embryos that can be used in stem-cell research] with great care. I pray it is the right one." In such a climate, what will happen to the independent scientist? Somewhere they are toiling in suburban basements, on city rooftops with well-thumbed copies of Popular Mechanics piled by their sides, but with evolution being labeled "just a theory" in some textbooks, try building a submersible airplane in your garage or grafting your own DNA with the great blue heron's today. Try building a ring around the equator or drafting plans for population control that read like poetry. Chances are your neighbors will turn you over to the Department of Homeland Security. And so after praying for a winning lottery ticket, independent scientists should start to pray for a government that doesn't use prayer to draft scientific policy. ***

I'm sorry, what?

[fo0hzy]

No need for direction, I get the gist of it.

Your argument is as invalid as mine. So nyah.

[Moonman62]

You'll always have something to talk about at parties. Were the cops impressed?