The patron saint of geeks?

[Gremlinzzz]

Nikola Tesla
Born in what is now Croatia to Serbian parents, he moved to New York in 1884 and developed radio controlled vehicles, wireless energy and the first hydro-electric plant at Niagara Falls. But he was an eccentric. He believed celibacy spurred on the brain, thought he had communicated with extraterrestrials, and fell in love with a pigeon.
:popcorn:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19503846

[Elfy]

Yea - was reading something earlier about him too :)

[Gremlinzzz]

His problem was public relations.but why? was it the affair with the pigeon?
:popcorn:you know to crazy?
I also remember reading that he wanted to develop free electricity for the entire planet.
The big wigs back then didn't like that idea.that may have played a role why he didn't get more positive news coverage.

[afulldeck]

"...Tesla was "brilliant" but would relentlessly pursue an idea like wireless energy transfer, even when it appeared unachievable to others. Edison on the other hand was a forceful character who could win people over and turn ideas into a product...."

In other words Tesla was more useful! Wireless energy transfer will rule the day!

[pissedoffdude]

Interesting character, especially with his obsession with the number 3. Always having to have 18 napkins, only staying in rooms divisible by 3, etc

But yeah, I thought this thread was going to be about Saint IGNUcius

[rybnik]

I thought the OP was going to say either Torvalds or Stallman!

[sffvba[e0rt]

But yeah, I thought this thread was going to be about Saint IGNUcius

http://www.stallman.org/saintignucius.jpg



404

[Primefalcon]

Tesla was one of most brilliant minds that ever lived

[adjbck]

I love the title but the content of your statement, although taken in jest is rather insulting. Tesla is by far the greatest scientist of all time. Dreamed of free wireless electricity, NO, he was making the dream come true. You have a banker by the name of JP Morgan to blame for us not having it, he wanted to put a meter on wardenclyffe which would mean we wouldnt get free wireless electricity. Tesla refused and Morgan ruined him. Sir this man is my hero and should be the god of all the geeks.

Give this a little read through, its simply a comic but it tells you all the basics youll need to know about how amazing Nikola Tesla was and why you shouldnt ridicule the greatest mind to have walked this earth in the last 500 years.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla

[effenberg0x0]

I couldn't think of a better choice for a Patron Saint of science. But seeing his name associated with "geeks" and etc is very frustrating.

The man was a genius. He was no more weird and/or eccentric than other people. People are people. It bothers me how smart people have to be labeled and remembered by their specific behaviors and flaws. Sometimes it seems to me like it's much more acceptable in our society for someone to be an addict, a sadistic villain, a reality show star.

Even with all of today's technology, communication and broad access to culture and information, people still try ridicule those that opt to deal with the "hard stuff", the mysteries of the Universe. Oh those are the "mad scientists", "nerds", "geeks", etc. Theoretical and experimental scientists are "crazy" for many. The same are we, the ones chose to be here talking about the specifics of software, Ubuntu and FOSS instead of having crazy adventures, skydiving and car-chasing bad guys daily, having a blast like all the others.

I can't imagine the agony one must feel when blessed with such a miraculous intellect but subject to the society judgement. He was incredibly curious and had an astounding imagination, which our society labeled as eccentricity back then and still does. Sure, it's funnier to think of Einstein as a guy that couldn't get a hair cut - what a weirdo. What about Stephen Hawking? What a cracknut, with that crazy pc voice. And Maxwell, Planck, de Broglie, Rutherford, Bohr, Heisenberg, Schroedinger, Dirac? They had funny hair/beard/clothes, all of them. They would have no friends on Facebook nowadays.

Look at the man history: Tesla didn't care. In my opinion, he was the very personification of an Experimental Physicist. His theoretical background was not as strong as that of some other known scientists before him. He had to try - he loved to try, he was not constrained by the scientific knowledge available by then, by his lack in some technical skills or by the judgement of others. He was a hero. A mas like that can't be associated with concepts and labels such as geeks. He just dared to be publicly smart.

Regards,
Effenberg

[KiwiNZ]

The choice is simple

[QIII]

Tesla. Nuttier than a fruitcake but brilliant.

Same goes for guys like Newton. They were all a little off in the head. Maybe that's what it takes to step outside the limists of the world of mere mortals.

Then, of course, there are guys like me who are also nuts but never amount to anything.

Sigh.

Anyway, the real Patron Saint of geeks is Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory.

[Max Blyss]

No matter how much I read about Tesla, or how many times he gets brought up, my amazement at his intellect never dims. (Salutes.)