Cover Boy – Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison

The July 5, 2010 issue of Time magazine features Thomas Edison on its cover.  Nearly 70 years after his passing, America’s Greatest Inventor is still worthy of Time’s cover.  The cover shows Edison holding his famous light bulb invention with a caption: “How One Powerful Idea Changed America” and “Why He’s Relevant Today.”  It’s all true – Thomas Edison epitomizes the American “Can Do It” spirit that has made the U.S. economy, and way of life, the envy of the world.

The Time article, especially for someone who works with inventions every day like myself, is thought provoking.  Bryan Walsh, the author of the feature article, begins with: “From the time of Benjamin Franklin, ‘inventor’ has been a very American thing to be, and the most inventive of them all was Edison.”  Walsh’s focus is: “Thomas Edison helped create the American way of innovation – but today the U.S. is in danger of losing its pre-eminence in science and technology.”  The premise is that America’s educational system is failing to produce as many engineers, scientists and the like as our world competitors, and that our economy is no longer manufacturing based but service oriented.  The worry is that in the decades ahead, America could fall behind in innovation which in turn will adversely threaten our way of life.  The Time issue is definitely recommended reading for anyone interested in patents and inventions.

As I read the magazine and pondered Edison’s legacy, I was particularly struck with how his genius changed not only our country but the world at large.  Of course, Edison invented the light bulb, but there was a lot more.  The light bulb couldn’t work without the availability of electricity.  Although Edison’s original plan of bringing electricity to homes and businesses by means of Direct Current lost out to Nicola Tesla’s more efficient Alternating Current, it was Edison’s idea to have electric companies provide electrical power on a commercial basis.  Edison invented the phonograph for recording and playing back words and music.  The motion picture industry was made possible by Edison. Fluoroscope, mimeograph, and storage batteries are a few more inventions in his catalog.

In spite of the his many inventions both great and small, what I consider to be Edison’s greatest single invention was his collective inventive process for which industry in 20^th century America learned how to become world leaders.  It was in Menlo Park, New Jersey in 1876 that Edison created his invention factory comprised of many enthusiastic, like-minded scientists, engineers and skilled laborers.  Edison boasted that his Menlo Park team could develop “a minor invention every ten days and a big thing every six months or so.”  It was the “invention factory” model that every company of every type would copy in 20^th century America with the advent of Research and Development Departments.  The R&D Department of a business would evolved into in-company inventors bringing new and better products to market.

Thinking of Edison, I recall a line from a Simon & Garfunkle song that would never have been heard if not for Edison: “Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.”  Our lament, as America feels the pressure from increased global competition, should be: “Where have you gone Thomas Edison? Our nation needs another one like you.”