#267 Thomas Edison

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Sep 14, 2022

Dive into the world of Thomas Edison, where invention meets relentless ambition. Explore his formative years, shaped by a thirst for knowledge and an unwavering work ethic. Uncover the challenges he faced while creating revolutionary technologies like the phonograph and electric light bulb. Learn how he viewed problems as opportunities for growth, alongside dynamic interactions with established innovators. This fascinating journey showcases Edison's tenacity and innovative spirit, illuminating the path of a true pioneer.

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ANECDOTE

Edison's Birthplace

Edison's father, Sam, had to flee Canada after participating in an insurrection.
This led to Edison being born in the US, where the lone inventor was highly regarded.

ANECDOTE

Childhood Curiosity and Punishment

At six, Edison set fire to a barn "just to see what it would do."
His public punishment left a lasting impact, highlighting early exposure to cruelty.

ANECDOTE

Homeschooling and Self-Directed Learning

Edison's mother homeschooled him, fostering self-directed learning by reading to him.
This encouraged him to pursue his interests, changing his trajectory.

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No Better Time

Molly Knight Raskin

No Better Time tells the story of Danny Lewin, a young mathematical genius who developed algorithms that transformed the internet. Alongside his MIT professor, he co-founded Akamai Technologies, which became crucial in handling massive web traffic, including during the 9/11 attacks. The book explores Lewin's life, his contributions to technology, and his tragic death as the first victim of the 9/11 attacks.

Edison a Biography

Matthew Josephson

M Josephson

Matthew Josephson's 'Edison: A Biography' provides a detailed and nuanced portrayal of Thomas Alva Edison, highlighting his inventions, business ventures, and personal life. The book delves into Edison's role as a transitional figure between the craftsman-tinkerer and the modern scientist, and it explores his contributions to the development of the telegraph, electric lighting, phonograph, and motion picture industries. Josephson's work is based on extensive research, including materials from the Edison archives, offering a rich and authoritative account of Edison's life and legacy.

The Vagabonds

The Story of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison's Ten-Year Road Trip

Jeff Guinn

The Vagabonds chronicles the decade-long road trips of Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and John Burroughs, highlighting their friendships, business ventures, and the transformation of America through automobile travel. The book delves into the personalities of these iconic figures and their role in popularizing automobile camping, which became a defining aspect of American culture.

Experimental Researches in Electricity

Michael Faraday

TOILERS OF THE SEA

Victor Hugo

Publié en 1866, 'Toilers of the Sea' est un roman de Victor Hugo qui se déroule sur l'île de Guernesey après les guerres napoléoniennes. L'histoire suit Gilliatt, un pêcheur rejeté par sa communauté, qui tombe amoureux de Deruchette, la nièce d'un armateur local. Lorsque le navire de ce dernier est détruit sur un récif, Gilliatt se lance dans une quête périlleuse pour récupérer la machine à vapeur, affrontant les éléments et un poulpe géant. Le roman explore les impacts de la Révolution industrielle sur l'île et les luttes personnelles de Gilliatt.

Land's Polaroid

Peter C. Wensberg

This book offers a detailed account of Edwin Land's life and his role in founding Polaroid, highlighting his innovative approach to science and technology. It provides insights into the development of instant photography and the company's history from its inception to the 1980s.

The fish that ate the whale

The Life and Times of America's Banana King

Rich Cohen

This book tells the fascinating story of Samuel Zemurray, who started as a roadside banana peddler and eventually built a sprawling empire involving banana cowboys, mercenary soldiers, Honduran peasants, CIA agents, and American statesmen. Rich Cohen's narrative explores Zemurray's rise to power, his involvement in overthrowing Central American governments, and his complex role in American history. The book delves into Zemurray's personal life, his business exploits, and the moral implications of his actions, painting a nuanced portrait of a man driven by an indomitable will to succeed.

Dark Genius of Wall Street

The Misunderstood Life of Jay Gould, King of the Robber Barons

Edward J. Renehan Jr.

This book by Edward J. Renehan Jr. offers a nuanced view of Jay Gould, often reviled as Wall Street's greatest villain. It highlights his strategic brilliance and contributions to modern business, while also exploring his personal life and the societal context of his time. The biography provides insights into Gould's rise in the railroad industry and his complex business tactics.

My life and work

Ford, Henry, Crowther, Samuel

E. Kalita

Mrs Henry Ford

Henry Ford

Samuel Crowther

Ford Henry 1863-1947

Henry Henry Ford

In this autobiography, Henry Ford recounts his early life on a farm in Michigan, his fascination with mechanics, and his journey to becoming a successful businessman. The book covers his innovative approaches to industry and mass production, his views on business, wages, and social concerns, and how he applied his principles to various sectors beyond the automotive industry. Ford also shares his stringent and sometimes controversial views on life, business, and society[1][3][4].

Creative Selection

Inside Apple's Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs

Ken Kocienda

In 'Creative Selection,' Ken Kocienda offers a detailed look at Apple's software development process during his 15-year tenure at the company. The book focuses on the 'creative selection' process, a method of iterative development through continuous demos and feedback. Kocienda shares stories of his work on key products like the iPhone, iPad, and Safari web browser, and discusses the essential elements of innovation at Apple, including inspiration, collaboration, craft, diligence, decisiveness, taste, and empathy. The book provides insights into the working culture and decision-making processes under Steve Jobs' leadership.

Becoming Steve Jobs

The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader

Brent Schlender

Rick Tetzeli

This book provides a rich and revealing account of Steve Jobs' life, drawing on exclusive access to his family, former inner circle executives, and top people at Apple, Pixar, and Disney. It humanizes Jobs by explaining his behavior and highlighting his growth from a brash founder to a mature and effective leader. The narrative includes stories never told before and offers a fresh perspective on Jobs' career, particularly his time at NeXT and Pixar, and his return to Apple. The authors, who had close relationships with Jobs, detail how he learned to trust his inner circle, became more patient, and developed a more mature management style, ultimately transforming the daily life of billions of people.

Instant

The Story of Polaroid

Christopher Bonanos

This book tells the remarkable story of Polaroid, from its origins during World War II to its rise as a technological and cultural icon. Written by Christopher Bonanos, it chronicles the life and work of Edwin Land, the inventor of instant photography, and the company's evolution through its innovative products, including the SX-70 camera. The book also explores Polaroid's interactions with famous artists like Ansel Adams and Andy Warhol, and its eventual decline in the face of digital photography. Bonanos' narrative is engaging and well-illustrated, capturing the essence of Polaroid's influence on photography and popular culture[2][4][5].

The Wizard of Menlo Park

How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World

Randall Stross

This book provides a detailed look at Thomas Edison’s life, from his early inventions to his later years. It explores how Edison came upon his most famous inventions, his relationships with partners, competitors, and notable figures like Henry Ford, and how he managed his fame to become the first great celebrity of the modern age.

Empires of Light

Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World

Jill Jonnes

Empires of Light by Jill Jonnes explores the intense competition between Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and George Westinghouse as they battled to create a vast electrical empire in the late 19th century. The book delves into the technological innovations, legal battles, and societal impacts of their work, which ultimately transformed the world through the widespread adoption of AC power. It highlights the complex and often contentious process of technological change during this pivotal period.

Against the Odds

An Autobiography by James Dyson

James Dyson

In 'Against the Odds: An Autobiography', James Dyson shares his journey from being a misfit to becoming a successful inventor and entrepreneur. The book chronicles his years of personal struggle and crisis as he developed the revolutionary bagless vacuum cleaner. Dyson recounts his trials with major manufacturing companies, legal battles, and his eventual success after partnering with a Japanese company. The autobiography emphasizes the importance of self-belief, innovation, and perseverance in achieving extraordinary success. It also provides insights into Dyson's unconventional approach to design, development, and marketing, and how his unique perspective as a misfit contributed to his innovative achievements.

Professional Amateur

The Biography of Charles Franklin Kettering

T. A. Boyd

This biography explores the life of Charles F. Kettering, a renowned inventor and engineer who made significant contributions to the automotive industry and beyond. It covers his early life, his work at the National Cash Register Company, and his role as a vice president and head of research at General Motors. The book also delves into his philosophy on innovation and his impact on society.

What I learned from reading Edison: A Biography by Matthew Josephson.

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Outline:

He had known how to gather interest, faith, and hope in the success of his projects.

I think of this episode as part 5 in a 5 part series that started on episode 263:

#263 Land's Polaroid: A Company and the Man Who Invented It by Peter C. Wensberg.

#264 Instant: The Story of Polaroid by Christopher Bonanos.

#265 Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader by Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli

#266 My Life and Work by Henry Ford.

Follow your natural drift. —Charlie Munger

Warren Buffett: “Bill Gates Sr. posed the question to the table: What factor did people feel was the most important in getting to where they’d gotten in life? And I said, ‘Focus.’ And Bill said the same thing.” —Focus and Finding Your Favorite Problems by Frederik Gieschen

Focus! A simple thing to say and a nearly impossible thing to do over the long term.

We have a picture of the boy receiving blow after blow and learning that there was inexplicable cruelty and pain in this world.

He is working from the time the sun rises till 10 or 11 at night. He is 11 years old.

He reads the entire library. Every book. All of them.

At this point in history the telegraph is the leading edge of communication technology in the world.

My refuge was a Detroit public library. I started with the first book on the bottom shelf and went through the lot one by one. I did not read a few books. I read the library.

Runnin' Down a Dream: How to Succeed and Thrive in a Career You Love by Bill Gurley

Blake Robbins Notes on Runnin’ Down a Dream: How to Succeed and Thrive in a Career You Love

Greatness isn't random. It is earned. If you're going to research something, this is your lucky day. Information is freely available on the internet — that's the good news. The bad news is that you now have zero excuse for not being the most knowledgeable in any subject you want because it's right there at your fingertips.

Why his work on the telegraph was so important to everything that happened later in his life: The germs of many ideas and stratagems perfected by him in later years were implanted in his mind when he worked at the telegraph. He described this phase of his life afterward, his mind was in a tumult, besieged by all sorts of ideas and schemes. All the future potentialities of electricity obsessed him night and day. It was then that he dared to hope that he would become an inventor.

Edison’s insane schedule: Though he had worked up to an early hour of the morning at the telegraph office, Edison began reading the Experimental Researches In Electricity (Faraday’s book) when he returned to his room at 4 A.M. and continued throughout the day that followed, so that he went back to his telegraph without having slept. He was filled with determination to learn all he could.

All the Thomas Edison episodes:

The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented The Modern World by Randall Stross (Founders #3)

Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World by Jill Jonnes. (Founders #83)

The Vagabonds: The Story of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison's Ten-Year Road Tripby Jeff Guinn. (Founders #190)

Having one's own shop, working on projects of one’s own choosing, making enough money today so one could do the same tomorrow: These were the modest goals of Thomas Edison when he struck out on his own as full-time inventor and manufacturer. The grand goal was nothing other than enjoying the autonomy of entrepreneur and forestalling a return to the servitude of employee. —The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented The Modern World by Randall Stross

Dark Genius of Wall Street: The Misunderstood Life of Jay Gould, King of the Robber Barons by Edward J. Renehan Jr. (Founders #258)

It's this idea where you can identify an opportunity because you have deep knowledge about one industry and you see that there is an industry developing parallel to the industry that you know about. Jay Gould saw the importance of the telegraph industry in part because telegraph lines were laid next to railraod tracks.

Edison describes the fights between the robber barons as strange financial warfare.

You should build a company that you actually enjoy working in.

Don’t make this mistake:

John Ott who served under Edison for half a century, at the end of his life described the "sacrifices" some of Edison's old co-workers had made, and he commented on their reasons for so doing.

"My children grew up without knowing their father," he said. "When I did get home at night, which was seldom, they were in bed."

"Why did you do it?" he was asked.

"Because Edison made your work interesting. He made me feel that I was making something with him. I wasn't just a workman. And then in those days, we all hoped to get rich with him.”

Don’t try to sell a new technology to an exisiting monopoly. Western Union was a telegraphy monopoly: He approached Western union people with the idea of reproducing and recording the human voice, but they saw no conceivable use for it!

Against The Odds: An Autobiography by James Dyson (Founders #200)

Passion is infectious. No Better Time: The Brief, Remarkable Life of Danny Lewin, the Genius Who Transformed the Internet by Molly Knight Raskin. (Founders #24)

For more detail on the War of the Currents listen to episode 83 Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World by Jill Jonnes.

From the book Empire of Light: And so it was that J. Pierpont, Morgan, whose house had been the first in New York to be wired for electricity by Edison but a decade earlier, now erased Edison's name out of corporate existence without even the courtesy of a telegram or a phone call to the great inventor.

Edison biographer Matthew Josephson wrote, "To Morgan it made little difference so long as it all resulted in a big trustification for which he would be the banker."

Edison had been, in the vocabulary of the times, Morganized.

One of Thomas Edison’s favorite books: Toilers of The Sea by Victor Hugo

“The trouble with other inventors is that they try a few things and quit. I never quit until I get what I want.” —Thomas Edison

“Remember, nothing that's good works by itself. You've gotta make the damn thing work.” —Thomas Edison

The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana Kingby Rich Cohen. (Founders #255)

He (Steve Jobs) was always easy to understand.

He would either approve a demo, or he would request to see something different next time.

Whenever Steve reviewed a demo, he would say, often with highly detailed specificity, what he wanted to happen next.

He was always trying to ensure the products were as intuitive and straightforward as possible, and he was willing to invest his own time, effort, and influence to see that they were.

Through looking at demos, asking for specific changes, then reviewing the changed work again later on and giving a final approval before we could ship, Steve could make a product turn out like he wanted.

— Creative Selection: Inside Apple's Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs by Ken Kocienda (Bonus episode between Founders #110 and #111)

Charles Kettering is the 20th Century’s Ben Franklin. — Professional Amateur: The Biography of Charles Franklin Kettering by Thomas Boyd (Founders #125)

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