Inventing or Tinkering ?

It can be quite laughable to what can be predicted for the future.

Their future = our now. Such as the above prediction made in 1965. I do own a couple of robots – but they don’t have legs or make my lunch for me.

Dreamers are important in the advancement of science.

However – invention should not be confused with tinkering.

Dreaming and predicting is not the same as inventing.

Dreaming is not inventing – but it inspires the inventor.

Edison was a tinkerer, not an inventor.

Tesla WAS an inventor.

Edison hated Tesla because of that very reason. Edison hated AC power because Tesla invented it.

Edison tinkered with what was laying around to make things. Once he had his reputation, it was mainly his staff of young scientists who came up with everything while Edison merely put his name on it.

Apparently, fame comes from being in the right place at the right time, being seen with the right date (like hanging out with a President and Henry Ford) and the ability to see the big picture and turn abstract concepts into simple terms.

Edison made predictions 100 years ago that by now all books would be made from the metal; NICKLE. Also, everything in our house would be made of steel. Baby cribs … beds … chairs … walls … etc.

Well – he was right on a few points. We no longer use gold for currency and he said we would travel at 200 mph by plane by now.

Today we have tinkerers with solar power.

They tinker with expensive “solar farms” and noisy wind turbines that kill large number of birds.

But solar will not work until we find our contemporary equivalence of Tesla to make it practical like he did by inventing the AC power turbine.

When we confuse dreamers with tinkerers and inventors, problems arise. Such as politicians claiming to have taken the initiative in inventing the internet (sound familiar?) or those with no real experience wanting us to go “forward” when we are actually going backward …

The more things change, the more things remain the same.

Don’t wait for Superman – look for our Tesla to arrive !

Category: Tony Rollo Blog