Ben McLeish | The Innovation War | Part 1

Ben McLeish's lecture for Zeitgeist Day 2011, London. This portion of the lecture details the struggles of Edwin Armstrong, inventor of FM radio, Ignaz Semmelweis who introduced handwashing in medicine, the reaction to Georg Cantor's theory of transfinite numbers and Nikola Tesla's feud with Edison, as well as the fate of the Wardenclyffe Tower project.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• zeitgeist
• day
• z-day
• lecture
• innovation
• ben mcleish
• FM radio
• Tesla
• Edison
• movement
• venus project

[bocckoka]

I still find TZM's fondness of Tesla disturbing. All the rest of his example's achievements has since been incorporated to common knowledge, while Tesla's original ideas for 'abundant wireless energy' has been proven false.

It's not a good idea to mention Tesla in this context, because this whole case has an aura of conspiracy theory. His ideas were not working.

[hypernation2007]

@bocckoka The Wardenclyffe Tower was torn down because of profit, not because it didn't work. That's the point of the story in this context. But can you send me the proof you mention?

[Noxictyz]

Good points, Ben.

[bocckoka]

@fukyuz101 Watched it, was interesting, will think about it. Still, this is within the boundaries of classical physics.

[fukyuz101]

@bocckoka So I take it you didn't even look at MIT and Eric Giler's Technology. Tesla's Wardenclyffe tower was actually even more advanced than this, but the proof is there my friend. And this technology will only become better. Please accept REALITY...

[bocckoka]

@fukyuz101 The EM field behaves as described by Maxwell's equations, field strengths diminshing by 1/r, which makes wireless energy transmission impractical for distances larger than a few cms. Also, high energy EM waves also pose health risks. So, let your dreams be shattered by empirical results.

PS: Energy transmission is a more important problem than production.

[fukyuz101]

@bocckoka Actually my friend, wireless electricity is possible. google Ted if your not familar it'll be the website at the top click on it and enter wireless electricity and watch the top post video, and there ya Go. Nikola Tesla was in fact probably one of the most intelligent person's to ever walk this Earth. Please if you can try and be up date with technology and information before casting dispersions, IMO Tesla was 50-75 years ahead of the rest of us people. good day sir...

[michaelw2711]

I love how he sticks up for underrated scientists who deserve much more respect like tesla etc. but I hate it when he calls the elephant a ' beast'.. but best of all I love the pixar animation oh and i can see straight through his ego-act but what can I do and anyway maybe that's the most entertaining and effective way of talking to a crowd but he's definitely in left brain mode lol

[bocckoka]

@hypernation2007 First of all, it is not even clear what was the method Tesla intended to use to generate and transfer energy. What is clear is that Maxwell's description of electrodynamics is correct, and the radiation field derived for moving multipoles from it is also correct.

But I am sure that if published, the scientific community will happily test these claims.