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[Steve M Smith]

My top three are Tesla, Les Paul and Paul Bigsby.

You can buy flux capacitors on ebay but I don't think they are guaranteed to work!


Steve.

[Mike Sokol]

My top three are Tesla, Les Paul and Paul Bigsby.

I've got to admit that Les Paul was a true genius and inventor.

You can buy flux capacitors on ebay but I don't think they are guaranteed to work!

Drats.... and I just put a bid in on this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Limited-Edition-Diamond-Back-to-the-Future-II-Flux-Capacitor-NEW-IN-BOX-/301057581236?pt=US_Action_Figures&hash=item46186e20b4

[Tim McCulloch]

I've got to admit that Les Paul was a true genius and inventor.

Drats.... and I just put a bid in on this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Limited-Edition-Diamond-Back-to-the-Future-II-Flux-Capacitor-NEW-IN-BOX-/301057581236?pt=US_Action_Figures&hash=item46186e20b4

If Doc didn't do the refurb, I'd let it go...

[Frank DeWitt]

I have much more admiration for Edison the CEO than I do for the myth of Edison the inventor.

I can't imagine why anyone thinks that Edison was not an inventor.  There is ample record of him inventing and patenting things with no help what so ever and I can tell you as a inventor of record on a few patents and co inventor on some others there is nothing wrong with hiring help to bring an invention to the finish line.

One of his more complex inventions done by him alone was bi directional telegraph.  It was a huge benefit at the time. another was the phonograph.  a third was the discovery of "the edison effect"  The bases of vacuum tubes.  He quickly saw it's value and devised the first vacuum tube piece of test equipment for his own use.

[Jonathan Johnson]

I have much more admiration for Edison the CEO than I do for the myth of Edison the inventor.

And I have more admiration for Bill Gates the CEO than I do for Bill Gates the computer programmer.

Yes, Bill Gates did some programming, but I would not classify him as a computer genius. He got his biggest boost mainly by remarketing DOS at a price much lower than competing operating systems were being sold for, which played a big part in making the purchase of PCs by consumers (as opposed to businesses) possible. I would consider him more marketing genius than computer genius.

[Steve M Smith]

My top three are Tesla, Les Paul and Paul Bigsby.

Actually, three is not enough. Add Edwin Land to my list.


Steve.

[Mike Sokol]

And I have more admiration for Bill Gates the CEO than I do for Bill Gates the computer programmer.

Let's all agree that there were many kinds of genius required for technology to grow and become part of our daily lives. There were accidental inventions, one-hit wonders, prolific inventors, wanna-be inventors, investors and CEO's of every kind, and vilified futurists such as Galileo. And there were many captains of industry needed to bring these inventions to the public.

For instance the American railroad system was less about pure technology and more about  the resources required in both human lives and machinery to create the infrastructure needed for the transportation of goods across a vast country. The same goes for the electrification of the world. Before electrical power, many industries were forced to huddle around sources of direct water power. So the northeast textile industry of the 1800's was clustered around rivers with water wheels to power its machinery. It took real genius of all kinds starting at Niagara Falls to develop how to move this same energy over wires across the country. Now everybody connected to the grid could simply plug in an electric motor and manufacture something. Without Edison and Tesla and Westinghouse and a thousand other driven geniuses, we would all still be huddled around wood  stoves and kerosene lights on these cold nights. I salute them all.

Now go find some pictures of cool monuments to electricity and invention that will amuse and entertain us.   

[Mike Sokol]

Add Edwin Land to my list.

Yup, another driven inventor in the film and optics industries.

From Wikipedia:

During his time at Polaroid, Land was notorious for his marathon research sessions. When Land conceived of an idea, he would experiment and brainstorm until the problem was solved with no breaks of any kind. He needed to have food brought to him and to be reminded to eat.[6] He once wore the same clothes for eighteen consecutive days while solving problems with the commercial production of polarizing film.[6] As the Polaroid company grew, Land had teams of assistants working in shifts at his side. As one team wore out, the next team was brought in to continue the work.

Elkan Blout, a close colleague of Edwin Land at Polaroid, wrote: "What was Land like? Knowing him was a unique experience. He was a true visionary; he saw things differently from other people, which is what led him to the idea of instant photography. He was a brilliant, driven man who did not spare himself and who enjoyed working with equally driven people."

[Jonathan Johnson]

Let's all agree that there were many kinds of genius required for technology to grow and become part of our daily lives.

Almost all invention is built on the work of others. Would Bell and Gray have invented the telephone had the telegraph not been developed first? Would Gutenberg have invented moveable type had the block-printing press not been invented first? Would Apple have developed the iPod had touchpad controllers (ala laptop mouse) and digital media players not first been designed by others?

Giving exclusive credit to a single individual for any invention is a sleight to those upon whose work it was built.

[Mike Sokol]

Giving exclusive credit to a single individual for any invention is a sleight to those upon whose work it was built.

Agreed. We all stand on the shoulders of giants...

[ProSoundWeb Community]