ADVERTISEMENT

OT: because our athletic dept. sucks...so an OT question. If you could have a one hour conversation with anyone from history, who would it be and why?

Nikola Tesla was a truly underrated genius! If he had his way, we would all be living in a free- powered society today without wires. Capitalism got in the way of progress and buried the science he developed that would have saved us from many of the impending disasters our lifestyles create as a side effect of “progress”. He knew how to make the world better, he just did not come up with a way to do it that would make JP Morgan richer so he died alone and broke talked about like a “mad scientist” instead of being revered as Einsteins equal.
 
Nikola Tesla was a truly underrated genius! If he had his way, we would all be living in a free- powered society today without wires. Capitalism got in the way of progress and buried the science he developed that would have saved us from many of the impending disasters our lifestyles create as a side effect of “progress”. He knew how to make the world better, he just did not come up with a way to do it that would make JP Morgan richer so he died alone and broke talked about like a “mad scientist” instead of being revered as Einsteins equal.
Yes, but, it was Edison promoting DC (direct current) and Edison’s reputation that allowed a smear campaign against Tesla and AC. Sorry, I don’t understand your comment about “without wires”.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rogue cock
Yes, but, it was Edison promoting DC (direct current) and Edison’s reputation that allowed a smear campaign against Tesla and AC. Sorry, I don’t understand your comment about “without wires”.
He had created a wireless electric sustem and JP Morgan was financing the construction of his first broadcast tower for it. When he talked to Tesla about how they would make money off of it, Tesla said his intent was to make it free and JP pulled the plug because he was no interested in the project unless he could corner the market and make a ton of money.. That is a brief summary, and the science behind the ability to deploy it on the scale Tesla dreamed of is debated to this day, but he was convinced he could pull it off. They had constructed the first tower around 1901 when the financing dried up, and it was eventually torn down years later.
 
Nikola Tesla was a truly underrated genius! If he had his way, we would all be living in a free- powered society today without wires. Capitalism got in the way of progress and buried the science he developed that would have saved us from many of the impending disasters our lifestyles create as a side effect of “progress”. He knew how to make the world better, he just did not come up with a way to do it that would make JP Morgan richer so he died alone and broke talked about like a “mad scientist” instead of being revered as Einsteins equal.
Uh no, I don't think so. Not even close to an accurate portrayl. Tesla was doing his best to make George Westinghouse richer, and his rival Thomas Edison was doing everything he could to thwart him. i don't know why you got off on that anti-capitalist rant, but Tesla loved capitalism and did his best to succeed at it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: vacock#
Uh no, I don't think so. Not even close to an accurate portrayl. Tesla was doing his best to make George Westinghouse richer, and his rival Thomas Edison was doing everything he could to thwart him. i don't know why you got off on that anti-capitalist rant, but Tesla loved capitalism and did his best to succeed at it.
It was not an anti capitalist rant. I was speaking of one instance where the interest in making money thwarted the completion and implementation of a promising potentially dramatic advancement in technology that- if successful- would have changed the world. Tesla was a bit of a mercenary scientist at times no doubt, but I do not pretend to know his personal feelings on matters of social or economic policy. I also made no comment on my personal feelings about it. Perhaps I should have used the word greed instead of capitalism, as JP was just about the richest man alive at that time… You’d think some philanthropic investment in scientific advancement would have been something he could afford… The way I have read about it, he pulled the plug as soon as he saw that it would hard/impossible to charge for Tesla’s power when it got to the end user.

Capitalism itself has spurred advancement at times and slowed it at times… I was not taking a macro view against it.
 
It was not an anti capitalist rant. I was speaking of one instance where the interest in making money thwarted the completion and implementation of a promising potentially dramatic advancement in technology that- if successful- would have changed the world. Tesla was a bit of a mercenary scientist at times no doubt, but I do not pretend to know his personal feelings on matters of social or economic policy. I also made no comment on my personal feelings about it. Perhaps I should have used the word greed instead of capitalism, as JP was just about the richest man alive at that time… You’d think some philanthropic investment in scientific advancement would have been something he could afford… The way I have read about it, he pulled the plug as soon as he saw that it would hard/impossible to charge for Tesla’s power when it got to the end user.

Capitalism itself has spurred advancement at times and slowed it at times… I was not taking a macro view against it.

I just don't see much of any Tesla connection to JP Morgan. Tesla was funded much of the time by Westinghouse, also one of the richest men in the world. If Tesla had been better able to capitalize on his great ideas, it is Westinghouse who would be made rich.

JP Morgan's personal wealth was enormous, and during his life he used substantial portions of his wealth in philanthrophic endeavors. He donated to charities, churches, hospitals, and schools. the Episcopal Church in America and its hospitals was a huge beneficiary. He also accumulated a huge collection of art. When he died in 1913, most of his collection went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But Westinghouse was Tesla's big financial backer, not Morgan.

If you want to blame someone for thwarting Tesla's achievements, you should blame Thomas Edison who waged a war against Tesla, interfering with financing and claiming Tesla's inventions unsafe. Edison was the big proponent of direct current while Tesla was basically the inventor of alternating current. Edison electrocuted an elephant with alternating current at the World's Fair, just to try and scare everyone of Tesla's alternating current. The whole reason we had the electric chair was an Edison idea to scare people about the danger of alternating current. He was behind NY adopting the electric chair as a means of execution instead of hanging. Of course Tesla's ideas won out eventually, as alternating current is simply better for transmission over long distances than direct current. But that victory came too late to put much money in Tesla's or Westinghouse's pocketbook.
 
Thought about this a long time and as a career musician probably Jimi Hendrix . Not from a technical standpoint but just from a creative one . Someone that innovative and original it would just be interesting to see how his mind worked. John Coltrane would be another one that I would love to get inside of his head .
 
  • Like
Reactions: bucketdad
And not a relative. I mean someone from history.
Neil Armstrong or Buzz Aldrin. I'd like to know how guys, who are willing to take on the very real risk of dying on the moon are wired. Then there is the complete awe of being in the presence of a man who has stood on the moon.
 
On a sports board, it might be more relevant to ask which historical SPORTS figure would you most like to have a conversation with.
I ate, slept and breathed swings for 20+ years between the ages of 27 and 55. For me to get a chance to talk with Ted William's is probably not unlike a psychologist getting to talk to Sigmund Freud.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Carolina Doc
I just don't see much of any Tesla connection to JP Morgan. Tesla was funded much of the time by Westinghouse, also one of the richest men in the world. If Tesla had been better able to capitalize on his great ideas, it is Westinghouse who would be made rich.

JP Morgan's personal wealth was enormous, and during his life he used substantial portions of his wealth in philanthrophic endeavors. He donated to charities, churches, hospitals, and schools. the Episcopal Church in America and its hospitals was a huge beneficiary. He also accumulated a huge collection of art. When he died in 1913, most of his collection went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But Westinghouse was Tesla's big financial backer, not Morgan.

If you want to blame someone for thwarting Tesla's achievements, you should blame Thomas Edison who waged a war against Tesla, interfering with financing and claiming Tesla's inventions unsafe. Edison was the big proponent of direct current while Tesla was basically the inventor of alternating current. Edison electrocuted an elephant with alternating current at the World's Fair, just to try and scare everyone of Tesla's alternating current. The whole reason we had the electric chair was an Edison idea to scare people about the danger of alternating current. He was behind NY adopting the electric chair as a means of execution instead of hanging. Of course Tesla's ideas won out eventually, as alternating current is simply better for transmission over long distances than direct current. But that victory came too late to put much money in Tesla's or Westinghouse's pocketbook.

Pretty good movie on this. The Current War
 
Will Muschamp ... would like to know how I can become one to the richest people in my profession by being fired twice . Would like to do the same
 
  • Haha
Reactions: TAV31
I would suspect being a very successful defensive coordinator at major universities is the way to do it.

Only if I can work for Mack Brown and Nick Saban . Also 70% of my defense must be 5 star Recruits who will be NFL 1st rounders . If I can’t have these stipulations I’ll pass . Haha . Just kidding . I’ll give him that . The guy was a good DC .
 
Only if I can work for Mack Brown and Nick Saban . Also 70% of my defense must be 5 star Recruits who will be NFL 1st rounders . If I can’t have these stipulations I’ll pass . Haha . Just kidding . I’ll give him that . The guy was a good DC .

The list of good DCs who were promoted to be lousy HCs is a long one: Dave Wannstedt, Dave Campo, Ron Zook, Rex Ryan, Bill Arnsbarger, Dom Capers, Eric Mangini, etc.
 
Last edited:
The list of good DCs who were promoted to be lousy HCs is a long one: Dave Wannstedt, Dave Campo, Ron Zook, Rex Ryan, Bill Arnsbarger, Dom Capers, Eric Mangini, etc.

That guy in New England did ok . You are right however . A lot of DC’s that flopped as coaches . I think the jury is definitely still out on Kirby as well . If I was a current NFL GM or college AD I would be very Leary of hiring a DC for a HC position .
 
Lee Harvey Oswald. Might finally get the answer to one of, if not the, most debated questions in modern American history. Who was behind the assassination of JFK?
 
Lee Harvey Oswald. Might finally get the answer to one of, if not the, most debated questions in modern American history. Who was behind the assassination of JFK?
He was a fabulous liar. I think one with Jack Ruby or that New Orleans mafia don would get better answers you seek.
 
He was a fabulous liar. I think one with Jack Ruby or that New Orleans mafia don would get better answers you seek
I'm assuming that these conversations with the dead would require truthfulness. You know, a dead men don't lie sort of thing.
 
Lee Harvey Oswald. Might finally get the answer to one of, if not the, most debated questions in modern American history. Who was behind the assassination of JFK?
Chances are he couldn't tell you. If you're going to create the perfect patsy, he would be at the top of the list. Simple minded and easily influenced.
 
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT