The photos illustrated animals in motion and instantly inspired Edison to think about how those images could be conveyed to people.
While working on the phonograph, Edison was shown images from renowned photographer, Eadweard Muybridge. On one notebook page he was penciling out diagrams for magnets and printing telegraphy, and a few pages later he was jotting down prognostications on the future of flight.
He used observational insight to help influence his current projects while balancing other ideas that could potentially be something bigger. Albert Einstein tried to make sense of theories that were validated by science long after his death.Įdison’s free-flowing imagination was also helped by rigorous observation. Leonardo da Vinci’s observation of birds in flight inspired drawings for futuristic flying machines. Observation is essential to understanding and creativity.
#Thomas edison thinking rock how to#
Regardless, Edison championed thinking about the future and because he took mental risks, he has become a pivotal symbol to innovation - always thinking about how to improve processes or create things that made an impact. Edison envisioned a world where our books would be plated and printed in copper, mostly because it was more economical. While he definitely nailed some of his seemingly otherworldly predictions, like the future of flight, he missed a few others. as to produce a flying machine of extreme lightness and tremendous power. and combined with suitable air propelling apparatus wings. Managing the details of life through lists.Įdison’s penchant for peering into the future was nothing short of remarkable.ĭecades before the Wright Brothers completed their first successful flight from Kitty Hawk, Edison was tapping his imagination to map and tinker with ideas about flight in his notepad:Ī Paines engine can be so constructed of steel & with hollow magnets.Embracing collaboration with fellow colleagues and researchers.Thinking about the future to imagine how problems can be solved.The themes evident in his notes are relatable and transferable into much of the work we do today, including: Today, we dive into some of his notes to explore ways he stayed productive. Last week, we chatted with Paul Israel about the work his team at Rutgers has accomplished studying thousands of notebooks Edison accumulated. “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration”Ĭourtesy of the Edison Papers, Rutgers University A team of researchers at Rutgers has scoured through his notes and discovered very little evidence that proves the electrical confluence of ideas fell from the sky like apples striking Newton’s head, alas, that’s another myth.Īfter all, Edison did (and, this is true) utter this most famous phrase: We know because he articulated and captured so many ideas and thoughts into over 3,500 notebooks. We imagine that he was struck with surges of inspiration and that swell of near-constant ideas was directly correlated to his success as an inventor. Yet, there is this image of Edison that has long propagated to mythical status around his work. His work has been responsible for thousands of patents and his inventions have had ramifications on how we live and work to this day. On a similar note, it’s difficult to question the epic work ethic of prodigious inventor Thomas Edison. In reality, studies of his writing indicate that Twain never said it. That’s why we all think that the coldest winter Mark Twain spent was a summer in San Francisco. People love building up stories about famous people to legendary status. THE IS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE LEAST WELL KNOWN OF ALL FAMOUS PEOPLE, AND MUCH OF WHAT EVERYBODY THINKS THEY KNOW ABOUT HIM IS NO MORE RELIABLE THAN A FAIRY TALE.
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