Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It strikes me as odd that an equally profitable need wasn't what Edison went with to begin with. Even if he wanted to do the light bulb element more, the oven element could have facilitated that. The oven element alone would have been reason enough to build an electrical grid. And, it would not have taken so many failed attempts, as the light bulb element did, to get it to market.
Houses were dark and gloomy. Candles and gas lights are prone to starting fires. Besides God never said "Let there be an oven". Edison knew a good thing when he saw it.
Ah, but that's the reason why I ask the question. It would have been so much easier to develop the oven element first. All of the burnt out filaments that didn't work in the bulb were proof of that. Nobody thought of it because it was derivative. But the trial and error process may well have pointed it out, if they were listening. I'm really asking why even smart people can have blinders on sometimes.
Ah, but that's the reason why I ask the question. It would have been so much easier to develop the oven element first. All of the burnt out filaments that didn't work in the bulb were proof of that. Nobody thought of it because it was derivative. But the trial and error process may well have pointed it out, if they were listening. I'm really asking why even smart people can have blinders on sometimes.
For starters, Edison did not invent the light bulb...
Ah, but that's the reason why I ask the question. It would have been so much easier to develop the oven element first. All of the burnt out filaments that didn't work in the bulb were proof of that. Nobody thought of it because it was derivative. But the trial and error process may well have pointed it out, if they were listening. I'm really asking why even smart people can have blinders on sometimes.
Well that one's easy to answer. It's part of being human. I've seen countless examples of intelligent people who use their intellect as a means of articulately justifying their preconceived notions rather than dispassionately challenging them. You're commingling two separate character traits.
Ah, but that's the reason why I ask the question. It would have been so much easier to develop the oven element first. All of the burnt out filaments that didn't work in the bulb were proof of that. Nobody thought of it because it was derivative. But the trial and error process may well have pointed it out, if they were listening. I'm really asking why even smart people can have blinders on sometimes.
Ah, but that's the reason why I ask the question. It would have been so much easier to develop the oven element first.
But you're speaking out of pure hindsight. If that's even true, no one could have known that. It's easy to come along over a century later and feel like you would have known better.
That's like saying "Why didn't Columbus just sail due east? Obviously that would have been easier." We're talking about what was then totally uncharted territory, in both examples.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
