Re: Vote Linus for Person of the Century

[George Bonser <grep@shorelink.com>]

On Sat, 6 Mar 1999, Richard Lyon wrote:

> 
> Nope I don't think I will vote for any person on the basis of scientific or 
> technical merit. A more global view is required.
> 
> 

I was thinking more along cultural lines.  If you look at the differences
between 19th century culture and life and that of the 20th century, I
think Edison's experiments are the difference. Forget the lightbulb, think
headlights ... movies, mp3, the entire entertainment industry (except for
theatre) of today and how that impacts our culture. It is who we are.
Without thermionic emission (the Edison effect) you would not have that
CRT you are staring at, a radio, an amplifier. All of these things
contribute to the daily life of all citizens in the developed and
developing world to a greater or lesser extent.

I can think of no single individual that had as great an impact on the
daily life of the entire world. Whatever we were to become in the 20th
century, we would get there in the company of Edison.