As you probably know the internet was originally developed as an advanced research project (ARPA) for the US military. Over the years it has evolved into general use by the public and business world alike.
The internet is an open forum generally lacking rules, consistency or a code of ethics. It has often been compared by some to the American wild west because of the proliferation of sex, illegal activity and outlaws.
That status, as open forum, is currently being challenged by the likes of AT&T (who joined the internet in 1987) Comcast and Time-Warner among others, who want to control access to the web by restricting or slowing access to certain websites. This would be done by establishing a practice of determining how quickly a website would open for your use thusly hindering or shutting down the free flow of information. Network neutrality advocates are rightly petitioning U.S. Congress to maintain the status quo arguing that big business cannot be trusted to be fair and competitive.
So... what has net neutrality to do with Nikola Tesla? Tesla, a brilliant inventor and innovator whose inventions ranged from electricity to acoustics, to hydraulics, metallurgy, and geometry (1), wanted to provide free electricity to the public. However, the greed of capitalism got in the way.
Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), born in Croatia, later becoming an American citizen, was a one-time employee and then later a rival to Thomas Edison. After working for Edison repairing motors and inoperable generators at the Edison plant, Tesla asked Edison for the promised payment of $50,000. In response, Edison is quoted as having told Tesla that he didn't understand American humor. I guess that means Edison never paid Tesla for his work.
Tesla went on to challenge Edison's vision of using direct current (DC) generator for universal distribution. While Edison was trying to perfect the hazardous, cumbersome and expensive DC generator Tesla's invention of the alternating current (AC) generator proved more practical, efficient and cost-effective eventually becoming industry standard. Their battle for supremacy is known as "The Current Wars." Though his story in American history books is recounted fondly enough, Edison was actually the antagonist in this war. Edison distorted the merits of Tesla's AC generator by propagandizing it as dangerous. Edison went so far as to solicit a professor, Harold Brown, to electrocute "dogs and horses on stage" as proof of the dangers of the AC generator.
One of the last inventions Tesla introduced was the Wardenclyffe Tower. Had it succeeded it would have provided free electricity to the world. The Wardenclyffe Tower was meant to be the start of a global system for wireless telecommunications and a national (and later global) system of towers broadcasting power to users as radio waves.(2) Instead of supplying electricity through a current grid system, users would simply "receive" power through antennas on their roofs.(3) Funding for the project was pulled by backer J. P Morgan when he realized there was no way to meter it.
Tesla is credited with having over 700 patents, including radar, the electric motor and the concept behind the radio. Just months after his death, the disputed radio patent was awarded by the U.S. Supreme Court to Tesla over Guglielmo Marconi, who is generally acknowledged as radio's inventor.
It's estimated that Tesla gave up millions of dollars in proceeds from his inventions so that the public could have access to his ideas. He died impoverished having given the world so much while receiving so little in return. It can be said that we are a hundred years behind in technology because many of Tesla's inventions never saw the light of day. Today people still sift through his patents seeking ways to bring them to life.
Over the years the public good has not always been served well because of the greed of a few. I know I could use a break on my energy bills. How 'bout you?
Keep the free flow of information for all. Keep net neutrality.
additional resources
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(2) Source
(3) Source
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1 comment:
Opening paragraph is incorrect. Every knows that Al Gore invented the internet.
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