Tesla is the greatest mind who ever lived

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the legacy and significance of Nikola Tesla compared to other historical figures in science, particularly Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison. Participants explore the reasons behind Tesla's popularity and the perception of him as a genius, as well as the implications of his public persona and the "cult" following he has garnered.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants assert that Tesla is the greatest mind who ever lived, even surpassing Einstein and Edison, while others challenge this view.
  • There is a discussion about the "cult" following of Tesla, with some suggesting it stems from the idea of an underappreciated genius and his lack of formal education.
  • One participant points out that Tesla actively cultivated his image and legend, likening him to a showman like Houdini.
  • Concerns are raised about the lack of recognition for other significant figures in science, such as James Clerk Maxwell and Josiah Willard Gibbs, in the context of Tesla's fame.
  • Participants express differing opinions on Tesla's contributions to science and technology, with some emphasizing his numerous patents and inventions, while others question the realism of his ideas, particularly regarding free wireless energy.
  • There is a mention of cultural representations of Tesla, such as in movies, which may contribute to his legendary status.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on Tesla's significance compared to other scientists. Multiple competing views remain regarding his legacy, contributions, and the reasons for his popularity.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express concerns about selection bias in evaluating who is considered "great" in science, noting the subjective nature of such assessments and the absence of objective measures.

Manraj singh
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I believe tesla is the greatest mind who ever lived, even better than Einstein, and even Edison! But most of the people I know didn't even know who Tesla is before I told them, so not much of an opinion. So, let's have a conversation with people who are interested in science. What do you think about that?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
So you consider Edison to be greater then Einstein?
 
Hmm, I bet this topic has NEVER come up before. :rolleyes:
 
1. This is "Current Events"?

2. Why is there such a "cult" following of Tesla?

3. I bet you your Tesla against my John Bardeen. I can easily repeat exactly what you said ("... most of the people I know didn't even know who John Bardeen is before I told them... "). Bet you don't know of him either!

Zz.
 
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ZapperZ said:
2. Why is there such a "cult" following of Tesla?

I wonder that myself. I think the idea of a mostly unknown genius who invented everything just appeals to a lot of people. And I glanced at his wikipedia page and it seems he never graduated from college? That might be crucial to his following--projection and all of that. Maybe it's the same reason the comments on Pete Maravich's youtube videos claim he's the best basketball player ever.

I mean, Maravich was fantastic and I'm sure Tesla was too, but some people go way overboard.
 
Since it is Current Events:

Benjamin Banneker - yes a real person. US Postal service issued a stamp in 1980.

I especially consider a functioning clock made out of wood to be a sign of pure genius.

benjamin-banneker.jpg
 
Manraj singh said:
I believe tesla is the greatest mind who ever lived, even better than Einstein, and even Edison! But most of the people I know didn't even know who Tesla is before I told them, so not much of an opinion. So, let's have a conversation with people who are interested in science. What do you think about that?

As has been said and/or hinted at in other posts on this thread, this exact question has come up here several times before and the consensus is VERY clear ... Tesla was a second-level scientist not even remotely in the same league as Newton / Einstein / etc.

He is over-hyped by the media and has a cult following of people who don't really understand science at all. Actual scientists don't think all that much of him.
 
Last edited:
Manraj singh said:
What do you think about that?

I think you need to stop jumping on the reddit bandwaggon.
 
ZapperZ said:
1. This is "Current Events"?

From the wikipeda page on Tesla:
On 9 January [1943], after learning of Tesla's death, the FBI ordered the Alien Property Custodian to seize all of Tesla's belongings, even though Tesla was an American citizen. Tesla's entire estate from the Hotel New Yorker and other New York City hotels was transported to the Manhattan Storage and Warehouse Company under OAP seal.
All that is obviously part of a government cover-up of something or other. So logically, he must still be alive, and this does belong in "Current Events" :biggrin:
 
  • #10
ZapperZ said:
2. Why is there such a "cult" following of Tesla?
Tobias Funke said:
I wonder that myself. I think the idea of a mostly unknown genius who invented everything just appeals to a lot of people. And I glanced at his wikipedia page and it seems he never graduated from college? That might be crucial to his following--projection and all of that. Maybe it's the same reason the comments on Pete Maravich's youtube videos claim he's the best basketball player ever.

I mean, Maravich was fantastic and I'm sure Tesla was too, but some people go way overboard.
The cult of Tesla was conceived of, and initiated by,...Tesla!

Tesla courted the press and gave many, many interviews over the course of his life. He developed a way of speaking about himself and his inventions that subtly incited the reader to be amazed by his thinking processes. He was not unlike Houdini in that regard. Just as Houdini created his own legend, the legend of Tesla was created by Tesla, and so was the notion that he was under-rated compared to Edison. No one disseminated that latter idea more than Tesla did. Like Houdini, Tesla had a long period during which he gave lecture/demonstrations of the fantastic effects he could produce with high frequency-high voltage electricity. Shooting long sparks out of his fingertips and causing evacuated tubes to glow in strange, colorful ways, gave him the aura of a kind of electrical wizard. First and foremost, Tesla was a showman.

To his credit, though, he knew he was a mere EE and inventor. I'm not aware he ever tried to pass himself off as a physicist or even a scientist.
 
  • #11
Not to mention movies like the Prestige (one of my favorite movies), which add to his legend. If you've seen the movie, you know how they take it to whole new levels with that guy.
 
  • #12
zoobyshoe said:
The cult of Tesla was conceived of, and initiated by,...Tesla!

Nice. I can't say I blame him. Choosing between being known as some magical electrical wizard with the greatest mind of all time and...not being known as that, is kind of a no-brainer. To do it without even claiming to be a scientist is just the icing on the cake.
 
  • #13
Tobias Funke said:
Nice. I can't say I blame him. Choosing between being known as some magical electrical wizard with the greatest mind of all time and...not being known as that, is kind of a no-brainer. To do it without even claiming to be a scientist is just the icing on the cake.

And you're forgetting, he got a fancy car named after him. P. T. Barnum never had that honor.

(Oh wait...was the PT Cruiser named after him? And does that even qualify as an "honor?" :-p)
 
  • #14
Manraj singh said:
But most of the people I know didn't even know who Tesla is before I told them?

What I have seen is that most people that are so amazed by Tesla never heard of James Clerk Maxwell or Josiah Willard Gibbs.
 
  • #15
I think there's two things that impress people about Tesla. One, he was a showman:

nikolapic.jpg


and Two, he was an idealist about free wireless energy.

My favorite name drop is probably Poincare.
 
  • #16
Pythagorean said:
and Two, he was an idealist about free wireless energy.

and massively unrealistic about it.
 
  • #17
Pythagorean said:
I think there's two things that impress people about Tesla. One, he was a showman:

nikolapic.jpg
The photo's a double exposure, by the way...
To give an idea of the magnitude of the discharge the experimenter is sitting slightly behind the "extra coil". Of course, the discharge was not playing when the experimenter was photographed, as might be imagined!
-Tesla's notes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tesla_colorado.jpg
 
  • #18
I think we all have to come to terms that everyone is going to have some kind of selection bias on who they think is great or not so great.

Tesla himself has a massive portfolio of patents, numerous inventions linking to motors, distribution of electric energy (in AC), radio based communication, turbines and other equipment which provide a lot of the significant basis for modern civilization which is an energy based society based on electromagnetism instead of other means.

Even with the above though, there is going to preference, self-selection, and selective amnesia with regard to who is "the best" and without any objective measure of what best actually means, the whole exercise is pretty much pointless.
 
  • #19
zoobyshoe said:
The cult of Tesla was conceived of, and initiated by,...Tesla!

Tesla courted the press and gave many, many interviews over the course of his life. He developed a way of speaking about himself and his inventions that subtly incited the reader to be amazed by his thinking processes. He was not unlike Houdini in that regard. Just as Houdini created his own legend, the legend of Tesla was created by Tesla, and so was the notion that he was under-rated compared to Edison. No one disseminated that latter idea more than Tesla did. Like Houdini, Tesla had a long period during which he gave lecture/demonstrations of the fantastic effects he could produce with high frequency-high voltage electricity. Shooting long sparks out of his fingertips and causing evacuated tubes to glow in strange, colorful ways, gave him the aura of a kind of electrical wizard. First and foremost, Tesla was a showman.

To his credit, though, he knew he was a mere EE and inventor. I'm not aware he ever tried to pass himself off as a physicist or even a scientist.
Good points especially the other point of him not having graduated college and how it gives fuel for a certain type of science aficionado who has never and never plans to go to college.
 
  • #20
Tesla's three phase motor and transformer were good inventions - but the time was ripe for them. Elihu Thompson and others were also working on rotating magnetic fields in 1880's.

But in my humble opinion he became obsessed with resonance phenomena and went off the deep end. Westinghouse didn't let him go without reason. But they made so much money from his inventions that in his later years when he was living in poverty, Westinghouse came to his aid out of noblesse oblige.

GE had Steinmetz who was in my opinion a more competent genius, see "Modern Jupiter" by ASME.
 
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