The Problem With Eureka
The son of Charles Darwin, a scientist in his own right, knows where the true secret to success lies
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/20111212113010science-credit-web.jpg)
First one with a press release wins the fellowship! But this isn’t news, this competitive marketplace of ideas. A hundred years ago, we have the sad case of Nicola Tesla entwined with the epic success story of Thomas Edison.
Tesla was brilliant and innovative in a way very few men have ever been or ever will be. Then Edison started doing shocking things like electrocuting elephants (how horrible: both that pun and the elephant murder) to show how dangerous Tesla’s flavor of electricity (alternating current) was. Tesla died alone in a dingy hotel room, with not a penny to his name. Edison died with over 1000 patents to his.
This quote is a good reminder that an idea not shared is just an idea that someone else will take credit for. Great minds often think alike, unfortunately.
(c) Jessica Hagy, 2011