My Inventions by Nikola Tesla
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A man ahead of not only his own time, but our time as well, Nikola Tesla provides a fascinating insight into his life, perspective and vision for the future.
Driven and brimming with a sense of overpowering creativity, he sees not only himself, but all of humanity, as sophisticated robots who only believe they have a sense of free will as they react to sensory prompts and their internal engines.
It's fascinating to peek with Tesla into his childhood years, when he survived mutliple close scrapes with death, endured bullying from his overbearing father, and overcame doubts and doldrums surrounding him to strive for a future only he could see brimming.
Street smart, though, Tesla was not. His oblivious naivete is charming. He speaks of Thomas Edison as a great guy, not bitter about the ways the businessman exploited him. He also dismisses conspiracy theories that the government undermined his research, and pontificates about how the creation of instantaneous death rays might bring about world peace.
His awareness of the shape of technology, though, is mesmerizing. He forecasts the internet, androids with A.I. indistinguishable from human intelligence, global wifi and free global energy sources. He confidently speaks of these things as though they are sure to come. He is pleased and humble to have been what he sees as a dutiful cog in the machine of progress.
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