Who is the greatest inventor?

[CivLuvah]

Who do you think is the greatest inventor of the three? Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, or Leonardo Da Vinci. Each of them has their strenghs & weaknesses. Nikola Tesla invented wireless communications but he was mad & crazy. Edison patented over 1,000 inventions & was Tesla's greatest rival but he lost is special magic touch later in his life. Leonardo Da Vinci invented nothing except desings for the future & the scissors. Or is it someone else who is the greatest inventor? Post your opinions here. My bet is Thomas Edison.

 

[holiday_hawk]

What about Ben Franklin, he invented the bifocals, the lightning rod, the glass harmonica(some kind of harmonica i think it was glass), and it's not a tangible object but he also invented the pay it forward method

 

[GoodGame]

Tough call. Almost it is like Tesla and Edison as AC vs DC current, but really it's about an inventor turned capitalist running what I think is the world's first engineering company vs. a prolific inventer who used to work at that company (and ran a less successful firm on his own as well). Many of Tesla's contributions were probably more speculative, while Edison's were generally more pragmatic, even if they were 'managed'.

I voted Edison by a hare, with Da Vinci way back in 3rd.

Shortly before Edison died, he said that his biggest mistake he had made was in trying to develop directed current, rather than the vastly superior alternating current system that Tesla had put within his grasp.[11]:19

 

[Tee Kay]

Nikola Tesla invented wireless communications but he was mad & crazy.

A little insanity doesn't hurt, especially if you're an inventor. You need all the ideas you can get.

Personally, I think all three are overrated, although Tesla less so than the other two. Some of the greatest inventors are some of the least well known - Philo Farnsworth, Willis Carrier, John Atanasoff, Henri Coandă, James Harrison, Bi Sheng, Zheng Heng, Al-Jazari, William Kennedy Dickson, Vladimir K. Zworykin, Percy Spencer, Charles F. Kettering, and others.

 

[Cutlass]

Edison was probably the most practical inventor, bit not the most visionary.

 

[Mirc]

I meant to vote other, and I voted for DaVinci. Well, whatever, he was still a great person (one of the greatest huamns ever, if you think of his artistic side too), even though I didn't exactly mean to vote for him.

Henri Coandă

Heh you're absolutely the first person I've seen on an Internet forum to actually put the breve on the A.

 

[Perfection]

What about Ben Franklin, he invented the bifocals, the lightning rod, the glass harmonica(some kind of harmonica i think it was glass), and it's not a tangible object but he also invented the pay it forward method

I believe he also invented freedom.

 

[GoodGame]

But isn't that like Marx inventing communal living?

I believe he also invented freedom.

 

[holiday_hawk]

What about Ben Franklin, he invented the bifocals, the lightning rod, the glass harmonica(some kind of harmonica i think it was glass), and it's not a tangible object but he also invented the pay it forward method

Add the modern post system to that list too.

 

[Mise]

Whoever invented sliced bread.

 

[Truronian]

Whoever invented sliced bread.

Reginald Hovis?

 

[Kennigit]

Of those, I would say Leonardo. I would say that for his time, Leonardo was an incredible genius and designed things that no one else did at that time, even if some of his designs were flawed. Invention wise, I don't know how he'd stack up, but in his genius, he's better. Ie. imagine if you stuck Leonardo into Edison's time and think what he could have done.

 

[GoodGame]

Leonardo was a creative genius, but his main contribution was in being able to express himself through art and a strong attention to detail. Easily the 19th and 20th centuries have created many inventors who were creative geniuses, if you check those that Tailless listed. On sheer creativity, Tesla alone rivals Leonardo.

 

[civ_king]

John Koza
http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2006-04/john-koza-has-built-invention-machine

 

[Perfection]

What's so great about the invention machine, it's an interesting hueristic, but it's not that revolutionary.

 

[History_Buff]

Meh, Leonardo was a clever guy, but he didn't really invent too many pratical things that I know of. Edisons vastly overrated.

My pick is Tesla; as far as I'm concerned bat-. .. .. .. . crazy is a plus!