Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Nikola Tesla - A Man Born Out of HisTime


Does the name Tesla ring a bell? The Tesla Coil? Alternating Current? Maybe you’ve heard of Tesla Motors with its impressive electric Roadsters? What about the man himself: Nikola Tesla?




Here is a simple list of “The 10 inventions of Nikola Tesla That Changed The World”, that Nicholas West compiled in his article for the Activist Post.

1.       Alternating Current

2.       Light

3.       X-rays

4.       Radio

5.       Remote Control

6.       Electric Motor

7.       Robotics

8.       Laser

9.       Wireless Communications

10.   Limitless Free Energy

Yes, that reads “Free Energy”. It has been kept a secret for almost a century now. Tesla upheld the notion that “all people everywhere should have free energy sources… Electric power is everywhere present in unlimited quantities and can drive the world’s machinery without the need for coal, oil or gas”.  Tesla sought out to rid the world of the economic challenges and political turmoil that continue to frustrate participants in the struggle for energy. His talents and gifts were intended to benefit mankind.
 
 

    This creative worked as an inventor, a physicist, electrical engineer, and much more. He was a man who could foresee the future, in regards to the technological advancement that would eventually shape the course of human history. Tesla was determined to save the world from its increasing dependency on fuel energy. With his brilliance and determination, he devised a plan to do just that.
    The link to creativity is beyond evident. Nikola Tesla did not create paradigm shifts. His inventions were not objects improved through the elaboration of others’ work. Tesla envisioned things from thin air. His wireless transmission tower, the Wardenclyffe Tower, originally constructed in Shoreham, New York was the key to allowing for free energy to the entire globe.
 
    Allow me to direct you to the magical force allowing you to read this article right now. That would be the beautiful Wi-Fi humans have grown overly fond of. Thanks to Nikola Tesla, humans have access to transmit messages, music, and news to anyone anywhere. Indeed, Steve Jobs is accredited with the iPhone glory, but do not forget to look back to a man who envisioned the gadget during a time when this could not have been dreamt of.

“An inexpensive instrument, not bigger than a watch, will enable its bearer to hear anywhere, on sea or land, music or song, the speech of a political leader, the address of an eminent man of science, or the sermon of an eloquent clergyman, delivered in some other place, however distant. In the same manner any picture, character, drawing, or print can be transferred from one to another place”.

 

    Next time you pop in those headphones to tune in to your favorite songs, remember who made that possible...a hundred years ago.  
 
External actors were aware of Tesla’s capabilities to change the world. Edison tried to convince the world the his direct current was more efficient and safer than Tesla’s alternating current. Marconi utilized Tesla’s patents to cultivate his own reputation. And J.P. Morgan refused to continue funding Tesla’s projects as they were not seen cost efficient to the monetary values he held. Tesla was not given the credit that he deserved.

    His remarkable aptitude for withstanding the temptations of greed, wealth and fame sets him apart from other scientists of his time, as Nikola Tesla genuinely cared for humanity.

    In Margaret Cheney biography of Nikola Tesla, “Tesla: Man Out of Time”, she argues that had he been alive today, the man most likely would have been diagnosed with schizophrenia because of his abnormal demeanor. Just as Kaufman and Baer concluded, many eminent creative fit in this category of psychological differences that set apart such thinkers from ordinary people. Even though their work focuses on mainly female poets, the connection can be made by the strange behavior that Nikola Tesla was said to conduct. The analysis of childhood trauma and tragedy that often strikes the inspiration in such thinkers is also prevalent in Tesla’s life.

    However, it must be understood that Tesla indeed was an eminent creative, if not more than that. Human history is privileged with people of Tesla’s nature every couple centuries. As John McManamy addressed in his piece, A Quick Tesla Appreciation, “What fascinates me most, though, is not what Tesla produced, but what produced someone as unique as Tesla”.

    Tesla, a Serbian Orthodox man, claimed that, “the gift of mental power comes from God, Divine Being, and if we concentrate our minds on that truth, we become in tune with this great power. My Mother had taught me to seek all truth in the Bible”.  Despite personal opinions of others, Tesla truly was a man born out of his time.
 

 More References to check out:

1 comment:

  1. I find this post fascinating especially with our recent discussion of mental illness. From what I know about Tesla, it was mainly his demeanor and his ethics that relegated him to the shadows whereas Edison was much more celebrated. Tesla seems like the prime example of a creative that was really terrible at interpersonal skills, but extremely gifted at his craft. It's actually pretty interesting to note though, that he seems to have gained a lot more popularity in recent years, due to things like (warning! strong language ahead)
    http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla and http://www.badassoftheweek.com/tesla.html
    I know you mentioned that he doesn't get the credit he deserves, well I think these comics and articles show a distinct change in that trend. It seems like a lot of eminent creatives genius is only fully recognized after their death, so maybe Nikola Tesla's time has finally come.

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