Nikola Goddamn Tesla

[P3nT4gR4m]

Comic is funny. History is boring and unfunny. Comic wins.

Arguing against comic, citing historical accuracy is retarded and herpderp. Even funnier than comic 

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I am not a fan of Edison not because I admire Tesla but because I don't really admire people whose only skills are marketing. It's just not what I have a hardon for. Also because he was a huge dick. I mean, there are a lot of nicer people I could admire, like Sam Walton. Edison wasn't a scientist, so why should he be up there with Lise Meitner in my pantheon of admirable scientists? Maybe if I was an MBA I would admire the shit out of him.

So....fuck the guy who brought innumerable life-altering technologies to the market and contributed to a vast improvement in the base quality of life for billions of people, but a hearty "hell yeah" for the guy who invented Wal-mart?

In what way is "why should he be in my pantheon of great scientists?" the same as "fuck that guy"?

I think you're missing the point. I don't admire Edison as a scientist any more than I admire Sam Walton as a scientist, and by all accounts Walton was a nicer person.

I am baffled by your apparent insistence that geeks and scientists should for some admire Edison as a great scientist with a mind on par with Tesla, Meitner, Curie, Turing, Bohr, Planck, Newton, and Einstein, because he just... wasn't. As scientists go, I would say he's more of a "Sciencey-type figurehead for laymen". He was a great product developer, though.

A lot of geek-types are fascinated by Tesla because he is one of the most underrated inventors in history... yes, a lot of people are geeking out on him now, especially on the internet, but just twenty years ago he was, like Meitner, one of the great unsung heroes of science and technology. It's kind of nice for him to finally get some of the credit he deserves for the work he did, even if it does him no good now.

[Cain]

A lot of geeks admire Steve Jobs, who doesn't seem all that different to Edison.

Maybe if there was an iEdison, this would help matters?

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

A lot of geeks admire Steve Jobs, who doesn't seem all that different to Edison.

Maybe if there was an iEdison, this would help matters?

I'm sure a lot of computer geeks admire Jobs, but I've also heard a lot of the same criticism of him. Likewise with Bill Gates.

However, that kind of has fuck-all to do with Tesla, Edison, or science.

[Cain]

Sure its relevant.

It's proof geeks easily succumb to stupid personality cults and hero worship which any ordinary person finds inane.

Note: the above sentence can be accurately repurposed to the subculture of your particular choice.

[LMNO]

I always thought of Edison as an engineer rather than a scientist.

Classic anectdotal example:  When coming up with a filament for his lightbulb, he didn't study the properties of various materials, making predictions about what would work and why, and then testing them.  He just tried every available material he had at hand, from platinum to bamboo (and as it turns out, bamboo worked pretty damn well).

Neither here nor there, I suppose.  Anyway, just my $0.02.

[East Coast Hustle]

I am not a fan of Edison not because I admire Tesla but because I don't really admire people whose only skills are marketing. It's just not what I have a hardon for. Also because he was a huge dick. I mean, there are a lot of nicer people I could admire, like Sam Walton. Edison wasn't a scientist, so why should he be up there with Lise Meitner in my pantheon of admirable scientists? Maybe if I was an MBA I would admire the shit out of him.

So....fuck the guy who brought innumerable life-altering technologies to the market and contributed to a vast improvement in the base quality of life for billions of people, but a hearty "hell yeah" for the guy who invented Wal-mart?

In what way is "why should he be in my pantheon of great scientists?" the same as "fuck that guy"?

I think you're missing the point. I don't admire Edison as a scientist any more than I admire Sam Walton as a scientist, and by all accounts Walton was a nicer person.

I am baffled by your apparent insistence that geeks and scientists should for some admire Edison as a great scientist with a mind on par with Tesla, Meitner, Curie, Turing, Bohr, Planck, Newton, and Einstein, because he just... wasn't. As scientists go, I would say he's more of a "Sciencey-type figurehead for laymen". He was a great product developer, though.

A lot of geek-types are fascinated by Tesla because he is one of the most underrated inventors in history... yes, a lot of people are geeking out on him now, especially on the internet, but just twenty years ago he was, like Meitner, one of the great unsung heroes of science and technology. It's kind of nice for him to finally get some of the credit he deserves for the work he did, even if it does him no good now.

I'm baffled by you thinking that's what I'm insisting. I'm not insisting that any more than I'm trying to put Tesla down. But most of the people talking about this on the internet are obviously stuck in the "since I admire Tesla so much I obviously HAVE to hate Edison" trap, and that's almost as dumb as the whole "HURR DURR YOU GUYS ARE DUMB FOR ARGUING WITH A (COMPLETELY RETARDED) COMIC" thing.

Mad science is awesome. But so are mad engineering and mad marketing. And so is dialogue that might get people interested in any of it, even if the dialogue is the result of people arguing over a lame webcomic.

[Doktor Howl]

A lot of geeks admire Steve Jobs, who doesn't seem all that different to Edison.

Maybe if there was an iEdison, this would help matters?

I'm sure a lot of computer geeks admire Jobs, but I've also heard a lot of the same criticism of him. Likewise with Bill Gates.

However, that kind of has fuck-all to do with Tesla, Edison, or science.

Jobs used slaves to make his "miracle" happen.  Fuck him.  Edison was a bit of a shit, but Jobs is in a different league altogether.

But again, comparing Tesla and Edison is like comparing apples to oranges.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Huh. I am not sure I understand the point of any of this conversation at all.

It still seems to come down to A. arguing about a comic, and B. lumping people into a group in order to feel superior. I think I'ma bow out.

[AFK]

For shits and giggles, another Cracked article on Tesla http://www.cracked.com/funny-284-nikola-tesla/

[East Coast Hustle]

And while this is subjective:

Comic is funny.

THIS reveals yours as an opinion so provincial and backwards that's it's possibly funnier than anything else in this thread.

History is boring and unfunny.

[Doktor Howl]

And while this is subjective:

Comic is funny.

THIS reveals yours as an opinion so provincial and backwards that's it's possibly funnier than anything else in this thread.

History is boring and unfunny.

While I wouldn't have put it that way, history is full of some of the funniest shit in the world.

It's almost as hilarious as the future.

[East Coast Hustle]

You wouldn't have put it that way because you're a more civilized and polite person than I am.

[Doktor Howl]

You wouldn't have put it that way because you're a more civilized and polite person than I am.

Fucking board ate my lengthy response.  Fuck retyping it.  Maybe fucking later.

[P3nT4gR4m]

THIS reveals yours as an opinion so provincial and backwards that's it's possibly funnier than anything else in this thread.

History is boring and unfunny.

Lemme guess, that's objective, right?