Thomas Edison Paper putranto geo
Genius Award: Thomas Alva Edison
1
Genius Award: Thomas Alva Edison
Christian Landry
HUM/102
August 26, 2014
Thomas Duryea
Genius Award: Thomas Alva Edison
2
Genius Award: Thomas Alva Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was born at Milan Ohio, February 11, 1947. His legacy is well known as he began
to create inventions at the age of four. He became a prolific figure in the field of invention, which brought him
great success throughout his lifetime while having institutions and facilities named after him. Edison's
perseverance in the technology field paved the way for inventors during the modern age to explore new ideas.
He truly deserves to be the winner of the 20th Century Genius Award.
In his early life, Edison suffered through poor performance due to possible brain trouble, therefore
leading him to be homeschooled. In today's standards he was suffering from ADHD as he was easily distracted,
he was hyperactive, and was deemed difficult to teach by his teachers because he asked so many questions. His
mother saw the power of his brain and decided to home school Thomas. The latter evolved to be an avid reader
of literature, eventually revealing his gift as a youthful genius. For a child, it was found that his retentive
capability was way beyond average (Greene, 2010).
As a child Thomas developed a hearing impairment. However, the origin of this condition is not well
known, even to this day. According to specialists, the condition was as a result of scarlet fever as well as a wave
of recurring ear infections. He however gave totally different explanations altered in the course of his life. His
business prowess began in his early childhood, at a time serving as a newspaper vendor. This is the time that he
reportedly discovered his entrepreneurial capabilities.
Edison, was and still is, the inventor with the most patents to this date. He considered sleeping to be a
waste of time and only slept for about three to four hours a night, which was a huge reason why his
perseverance paid off. He ranked all of his inventions that were of significant value, presenting a hard time
ranking them in the order of importance. His most influential and most important inventions include the electric
light bulb, the phonograph, kinescope, storage battery, sound microphone, electric generator and the movie
camera. He was also the first person to have a laboratory dedicated to invention.
Genius Award: Thomas Alva Edison
3
During his life, Thomas Edison collected over 1,093 patents in the US and many more in the United
Kingdom, France, and Germany (Coller & Chamberlain, 2012). Thomas set himself apart from other inventors
with his entrepreneur mindset and having a desire to be a great business oriented man. He developed his own
company in which his patented items could be mass produced and developed the principles of large-scale
teamwork to the process of his inventing. Thomas was generally known as an industrious man, taking attention
to even the slightest details, propelling his genius. His determination to succeed in his work is a main
contributing factor to his success, he was persistent until the goal of his invention was accomplished.
Edison’s developments are considered to be the founding factors of the field of mass communication.
The telecommunication technology such as a recorded music, stock tickers , batteries for electrical equipment
developed and mechanical vote recorders were all purported to be developed due to his experience as a
telegrapher in his early life. He was generally perceived as a freethinker; what he called the theory of supreme
intelligence. Before the invention of AC electricity, Thomas was well known to uphold a non-violent moral
view. He refused to participate in the development of weapons, a venture which was quite common in the years.
However, Edison’s business minded approach sometimes drove him to perform inconsiderate actions.
He was not the one that came up with the idea of the light bulb (Coller & Chamberlain, 2012). Joseph Wilson
Swan was the one who came up with the idea and had already started his light bulb company in the 1900’s, but
was just not a good product for production purposes, so Edison invented a better way. He and his engineers
created a cheaper and more durable version and made it available to the public. Without this push by Edison it
may have taken a lot longer for the household light bulb to be invented. The movie camera is also said to be a
stolen idea. William Friese-Greene gave copies of his research during his duration of work at Edison’s company
only for Edison to take it and develop it. The first practical electric chair was invented by Harold P. Brown.
Brown was an employee of Thomas Edison, hired for the purpose of researching electrocution and for the
development of the electric chair. Since Brown worked for Edison, and Edison promoted Brown’s work, the
development of the electric chair is often erroneously credited to Edison himself (Greene, 2010). These
Genius Award: Thomas Alva Edison
4
inventions are credited to Edison because he was a brilliant business man, which helped to give him the
spotlight and understanding of how to patent things a better way.
One cannot fail to mention the name Nikola Tesla when speaking about Edison. Tesla was a brilliant
engineer hired by Edison and is responsible for many of the patents that he was able to get; especially in the
field of electricity and magnetism (Coller & Chamberlain, 2012). Edison had scores more assistants helping him
devise inventions, and also bought some of his patents. Tesla on the other hand had an eidetic memory; which
enabled him to invent technologies with less planning and drawing. Tesla's ideas were often more disruptive
technologies that didn't have a built-in market demand.
Tesla and Edison had a long standing feud over the DC generator and many other inventions. With the
invention of power transmission through alternating current, the Direct current methods that Edison was at the
time using in power distribution were on the brink of being out phased. Thomas’s character of always making
profits was always dominant. He knew that his DC invention had the chances that could only be described as
those of a snowball in hell. This disagreement led to one of the most inhumane acts of Edison's career. When
Tesla patented the AC generator, he tried to lure public opinion saying that AC power was harmful to the
society. Edison launched a propaganda campaign to convince people that AC was far too dangerous to use,
which was brilliant for his own personal gain. To prove his point, he saw the electrocution of several innocent
animals including puppies and most famous of all an elephant. He also convinced the government to adopt
death by electrocution as opposed to hanging. This he did by developing and promoting the use of the electric
chair. This various moves came to be known as the war of currents. (Greene, 2010). Edison may have taken this
a little too far, but he is still a genius for manipulating the outcome of this feud with Tesla.
I admire the aggressive part of Thomas Edison up to a certain point. His openness to ideas and generally
innovative nature ground breaking and brought a lot of useful inventions to homes and businesses around the
world. Unfortunately, the modern world we are living in presents a much harder environment severely limiting
opportunities to innovate and invent. His urge to work was simply magnificent and attaining such a level of
Genius Award: Thomas Alva Edison
5
discipline was amazing. Unfortunately, he let his ego take over him and ended up doing some questionable
things in his field. The idea of animal cruelty in order to attain a personal goal was overboard, but his
determination for inventions was drove him to succeed through any means necessary. This goes against the
ethics of business and science as well. An honest inventor is what he could have been; after all he had all the
necessary resources and motivation. Even through that he still gets the genius award for the countless inventions
that have changed the lives and culture of the world and paved a way for 20th Century inventors in the
Industrial Age.
References
Genius Award: Thomas Alva Edison
6
Coller, J., & Chamberlain, C. (2012). The lives, loves and deaths of splendidly unreasonable inventors. Oxford:
Infinite Ideas.
Greene, R. (2010). The 48 Laws Of Power. London: Profile Books.
1
Genius Award: Thomas Alva Edison
Christian Landry
HUM/102
August 26, 2014
Thomas Duryea
Genius Award: Thomas Alva Edison
2
Genius Award: Thomas Alva Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was born at Milan Ohio, February 11, 1947. His legacy is well known as he began
to create inventions at the age of four. He became a prolific figure in the field of invention, which brought him
great success throughout his lifetime while having institutions and facilities named after him. Edison's
perseverance in the technology field paved the way for inventors during the modern age to explore new ideas.
He truly deserves to be the winner of the 20th Century Genius Award.
In his early life, Edison suffered through poor performance due to possible brain trouble, therefore
leading him to be homeschooled. In today's standards he was suffering from ADHD as he was easily distracted,
he was hyperactive, and was deemed difficult to teach by his teachers because he asked so many questions. His
mother saw the power of his brain and decided to home school Thomas. The latter evolved to be an avid reader
of literature, eventually revealing his gift as a youthful genius. For a child, it was found that his retentive
capability was way beyond average (Greene, 2010).
As a child Thomas developed a hearing impairment. However, the origin of this condition is not well
known, even to this day. According to specialists, the condition was as a result of scarlet fever as well as a wave
of recurring ear infections. He however gave totally different explanations altered in the course of his life. His
business prowess began in his early childhood, at a time serving as a newspaper vendor. This is the time that he
reportedly discovered his entrepreneurial capabilities.
Edison, was and still is, the inventor with the most patents to this date. He considered sleeping to be a
waste of time and only slept for about three to four hours a night, which was a huge reason why his
perseverance paid off. He ranked all of his inventions that were of significant value, presenting a hard time
ranking them in the order of importance. His most influential and most important inventions include the electric
light bulb, the phonograph, kinescope, storage battery, sound microphone, electric generator and the movie
camera. He was also the first person to have a laboratory dedicated to invention.
Genius Award: Thomas Alva Edison
3
During his life, Thomas Edison collected over 1,093 patents in the US and many more in the United
Kingdom, France, and Germany (Coller & Chamberlain, 2012). Thomas set himself apart from other inventors
with his entrepreneur mindset and having a desire to be a great business oriented man. He developed his own
company in which his patented items could be mass produced and developed the principles of large-scale
teamwork to the process of his inventing. Thomas was generally known as an industrious man, taking attention
to even the slightest details, propelling his genius. His determination to succeed in his work is a main
contributing factor to his success, he was persistent until the goal of his invention was accomplished.
Edison’s developments are considered to be the founding factors of the field of mass communication.
The telecommunication technology such as a recorded music, stock tickers , batteries for electrical equipment
developed and mechanical vote recorders were all purported to be developed due to his experience as a
telegrapher in his early life. He was generally perceived as a freethinker; what he called the theory of supreme
intelligence. Before the invention of AC electricity, Thomas was well known to uphold a non-violent moral
view. He refused to participate in the development of weapons, a venture which was quite common in the years.
However, Edison’s business minded approach sometimes drove him to perform inconsiderate actions.
He was not the one that came up with the idea of the light bulb (Coller & Chamberlain, 2012). Joseph Wilson
Swan was the one who came up with the idea and had already started his light bulb company in the 1900’s, but
was just not a good product for production purposes, so Edison invented a better way. He and his engineers
created a cheaper and more durable version and made it available to the public. Without this push by Edison it
may have taken a lot longer for the household light bulb to be invented. The movie camera is also said to be a
stolen idea. William Friese-Greene gave copies of his research during his duration of work at Edison’s company
only for Edison to take it and develop it. The first practical electric chair was invented by Harold P. Brown.
Brown was an employee of Thomas Edison, hired for the purpose of researching electrocution and for the
development of the electric chair. Since Brown worked for Edison, and Edison promoted Brown’s work, the
development of the electric chair is often erroneously credited to Edison himself (Greene, 2010). These
Genius Award: Thomas Alva Edison
4
inventions are credited to Edison because he was a brilliant business man, which helped to give him the
spotlight and understanding of how to patent things a better way.
One cannot fail to mention the name Nikola Tesla when speaking about Edison. Tesla was a brilliant
engineer hired by Edison and is responsible for many of the patents that he was able to get; especially in the
field of electricity and magnetism (Coller & Chamberlain, 2012). Edison had scores more assistants helping him
devise inventions, and also bought some of his patents. Tesla on the other hand had an eidetic memory; which
enabled him to invent technologies with less planning and drawing. Tesla's ideas were often more disruptive
technologies that didn't have a built-in market demand.
Tesla and Edison had a long standing feud over the DC generator and many other inventions. With the
invention of power transmission through alternating current, the Direct current methods that Edison was at the
time using in power distribution were on the brink of being out phased. Thomas’s character of always making
profits was always dominant. He knew that his DC invention had the chances that could only be described as
those of a snowball in hell. This disagreement led to one of the most inhumane acts of Edison's career. When
Tesla patented the AC generator, he tried to lure public opinion saying that AC power was harmful to the
society. Edison launched a propaganda campaign to convince people that AC was far too dangerous to use,
which was brilliant for his own personal gain. To prove his point, he saw the electrocution of several innocent
animals including puppies and most famous of all an elephant. He also convinced the government to adopt
death by electrocution as opposed to hanging. This he did by developing and promoting the use of the electric
chair. This various moves came to be known as the war of currents. (Greene, 2010). Edison may have taken this
a little too far, but he is still a genius for manipulating the outcome of this feud with Tesla.
I admire the aggressive part of Thomas Edison up to a certain point. His openness to ideas and generally
innovative nature ground breaking and brought a lot of useful inventions to homes and businesses around the
world. Unfortunately, the modern world we are living in presents a much harder environment severely limiting
opportunities to innovate and invent. His urge to work was simply magnificent and attaining such a level of
Genius Award: Thomas Alva Edison
5
discipline was amazing. Unfortunately, he let his ego take over him and ended up doing some questionable
things in his field. The idea of animal cruelty in order to attain a personal goal was overboard, but his
determination for inventions was drove him to succeed through any means necessary. This goes against the
ethics of business and science as well. An honest inventor is what he could have been; after all he had all the
necessary resources and motivation. Even through that he still gets the genius award for the countless inventions
that have changed the lives and culture of the world and paved a way for 20th Century inventors in the
Industrial Age.
References
Genius Award: Thomas Alva Edison
6
Coller, J., & Chamberlain, C. (2012). The lives, loves and deaths of splendidly unreasonable inventors. Oxford:
Infinite Ideas.
Greene, R. (2010). The 48 Laws Of Power. London: Profile Books.