Who was more intelligent: Hawking or Tesla?

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russ_watters said:
Those two are basically the same contribution. It's a good one though.

Agreed, kinda. As long as it took to get from there to here, I'm not sure it can be considered a direct connection.

"Important" is a bit vague. He'd probably make a top 100 list of "important" engineers/inventors based on his one big invention, but I'm not sure it would be easy.
I forgot to mention he engineered and oversaw the construction of the world's first hydroelectric plant at Niagra Falls. That paved the way for Hoover Dam, and the soon to be Three Gorges in China. It was an important proof of concept.

As for the drones, Tesla actually built and demonstrated a remote controlled submarine, which he tried to sell to the military. In the gap between, remote control was relegated to, and developed for, what are basically toys, but eventually the military did take it up, proving he had the right idea about what to do with it. Not always the case with his inventions.
 
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Matterwave said:
I am most offended by the comment that Batman is not the strongest one between Superman and the Hulk. The answer is always batman guys.
I take it that you never read the collaborative Giant magazine of "Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man: The Battle of the Century." I have the version signed by Stan Lee and Carmine Infantino. Batman just ain't in the same universe...
I was unaware of the Superman/Hulk thing, but I'll sure read it if I ever get the chance.
 
phinds said:
That looks more like a puff-piece for Tesla, designed to sell books, than a serious discussion of his scientific merit
This is the best Tesla biography I read about him. In the end of a book there is actually a chapter where renowned experts in engineering and science evaluate Tesla's contribution. Also, this book has many references and citations and very few flaws.
 
zoki85 said:
This is the best Tesla biography I read about him. In the end of a book there is actually a chapter where renowned experts in engineering and science evaluate Tesla's contribution. Also, this book has many references and citations and very few flaws.

Well, I haven't read it so should hold judgement. It's hard because there's this sort of cult of mythology that has grown up around Tesla in the popular press that makes him out to be a FAR more influential figure than he actually was. There are a lot of threads on this forum that discuss this and the consensus is clearly that he is seriously overrated.
 
It's not Tesla's fault that he's seriously overrated. It's Tesla's own fault that he's overrated. He spent much effort in creating the myth of Tesla, and he was good at it. However, he actually did contribute much to the electrification of the world, and the electrified world is a very different place than the world before it.

It's hard to say what Hawking has contributed, but he functions as a poster boy for physics, much like Tesla was a poster boy for electrical invention.