Edison Miracle of Light, Andrew G.

After seeing the movie “Edison Miracle of Light” I think that Edison knew a lot more then just how to invent things, he knew what to invent along with how to sell it.  He learned a huge amount about what people wanted to hear from working with different newspapers.  This helped him to be able to sell or show of his inventions to the public.  I was surprised to hear that after Edison installed the first full set up of lights in Grand Central other cities didn’t seem that interested in buying any of his lights and their power supplies.  The way I had always heard it everyone just loved the lights and within a short amount of time all the cities had them.  This is where I think Edison was a great business man, he set up a huge marketing campaign to get people to see what his lights could do.  

The amount of credit that Edison receives for creating the light bulb seems almost small once you know the amount of work that had to go into getting the light bulb to work.  I never thought of all the technology that went into getting the lights to work.  For him to create all the wiring and a generator to make all the lights work is an amazing feat. I think Edisons ability to keep behind his ideas when people think that he can’t do it helped him and hurt him at the same time.  It’s one of the main reasons he was able to create such great things but it stopped him once AC current came along.  If he would have bent and agreed that it was a better system then he would have been able to stay around longer and be more involved with the electricity.  

All in all the movie was good and I learned some things that I didn’t know about Edison before.  Some of his other inventions seem to get pushed back and I think they are almost more advanced then the light bulb alone.  His team also helped a huge amount in all of his creations, I think they should get a little bit more credit. Yes Edison was the main creator of all the ideas but it was almost just as much everyone at Menlo Park that made everything a reality.  He did do a great amount of good for our country.

Edison Miracle of Light: Matthew Harrison

Edison was able to create something that everyone today uses and provides entertainment for all of the world. Edison helped better create the Kinetoscope which is also known for making motion pictures. He had the first film every made which was one of his employees sneezing. Edison was able to bring something that was from still life to something that moves in real time. To many people this would seem like magic and basically from then on people where interested. Without his progression on this invention motion pictures today could be very different today.  Although with-out the help of his team he would not have had this advantage over the other competitors. Edison was only as good as his team that helped him invent new and different technologies.  His role in American Movies I think go so unnoticed because really his company is behind all the major Film companies today. Without Edisons invention of the motion picture, films and television would not be as advanced as they are today. His role is  the most important role in the film industry.

Edisons Miracle Of Light David G

In response to the movie I learned a good deal about Edison and how he went about creating the first electric light bulb. I was very surprised to find out that it changed the world as much as it did. I knew it was important, but I did not think that it was something that the press would follow as closely as they did. I was also very taken aback by how Edison acted. I thought it was very strange of him to be completely involved in his work, and even to the point of neglecting his wives. I like inventing and working on new projects, but seeing how he treated everyone around him i can’t help but think how much i dislike the guy now.

On a different note i was fascinated by the amount of work that went into creating something as simple as a light bulb. The scientists of the world all said that it could not be done. Saying this is nothing new. Even today we are telling researchers that they are working on impossible tasks, but in my opinion we can do anything. Edison thought that way as well and kept trying until finally he managed to make a filament that didn’t break when it lit up. I really like the message that i saw under the movie that said never give up, if you do you will never really know if something was possible.

Edison Miracle of Light- June Sri

 

From watching the documentary “Edison: Miracle of Light”, I learned more about Edison himself and what he invented. His inspiration, his personality, and his way of thinking changed the world.

Edison came from a poor family. He was self-taught and began work from a very young age. All of his work was related to technology. He knew the ways to improve things, invent things, and make things better. When he worked at the telograph industry, he invented a stock ticker and the electric vote recorder. The invention that first made him famous was the phonograph. He found a way to record sound. Edison showed us that he could always invent something new from basic, everyday items, that we might not think of.

He taught people that invention can be useful to others. He thought that it would help to make the world the better place to live so, he invented things. Since people always want what they don’t already have, there will always be something new to invent. Edison decided that he want to replace the gas light with electric light. He worked very hard, and he did not give up though media critics said that he was a liar when he underestimated the time needed to create the electric light. He was called a liar because he said that the electric light would finished in three weeks, but he finished it in three years. He was very stubborn, but at that time, his stubbornness made him to become successful because he continued his work until it was finished.

He became famous because his hard work paid off. Menlo Park, which was where his laboratory was,became better and better. However, life wasn’t always stable, this meant high risk brings high return. When George Westinghouse made the alternating current usable, Edison had not been wanted by many companies anymore. The alternating current was created to help with the growth of railroads. Edison was not ready give up the thought that direct current was the safest one and that an alternating was very dangerous. He even used the electricity in his experiment to see which current would kill animals faster. He tried everything he could to get his status back, to prove his own beliefs. After he knew that the direct current was not as useful as alternating current, he understood that he could not win the status over Westinghouse. He decided to invent something new, something that was not related to electricity.

The material in the documentary was thought to be well presented. It showed the good and bad parts of Edison’s life. The movie showed both Edison’s achievements and Edison’s life story. The way the documentary was presented was well-organized.

From the Hats of the Problem-Solver rubric, I think that Edison had all those four qualities in him. These qualities being Explorer, Artist, Judge, and Warrior. Edison balances all these qualities very well, but it seems to be that warrior fits him best. As a warrior, he was very persistent, and he was willing to follow his goals all the way through to the end.

Edison Miracle of Light, Chris C

I learned Edison was a lot stranger than I could have imagined.  I really don’t see why he had to be that stubborn about the hearing aid concept.  Even if he invented it he wouldn’t have to use it, and he’d be helping the world conquer one of the most aggravating issues around.  Even today it’s pretty common to have some hearing loss and being able to put his name to the hearing aid would have been cool.  Other than that, the only thing that really grabbed me was his family.  The webpage didn’t do too much to describe them and it was kinda nice to see a varied collection of the man and his family.  As for the presentation, it felt like a pbs type broadcast.  It could have been a little better, but the real quirk that pushed it for me was the introduction.  The story about the replica bulb was a bit over the top and out of place for the film and I think there could have been a better alternative.  I also feel a bit upset about the snappy ending, but the focus wasn’t on his entire life, just everything relative to electricity and light.  Finally, I beleive Edison to be a cross between an artist and warrior.  The sheer number of materials he kept in the lab and the remarks from Tesla on his methods show just how far he’d push the bouandaries of innovation and persistence.

Edison: Miracle of Light, Matthew Harrison

After watching this movie, I got a better understanding of Edison and his contribution to engineering and inventors around. Everything from the D.C motor, Phonograph and Alternating Telegraphs which all help the world today have a building ground to explore and expand to different types of technology. I also did not know about Edison actually having a hearing impediment and was still able to create new and different inventions in hearing. Also i found it to be a very bland but interesting movie. He was able to ask his wife to marry him through using Morse code. Also what made Edison different from any other inventor at that time is his work shop that he opened in Menlo Park. He would have people or other inventors come to his workshop and help create different types of inventions that already exist to help make them better. Also these inventions would help him get a good reach into the electric industry. Edison over the next few years would invent new objects that would help create generators, light sockets, and other types of light fixtures. Edison I would say was one of the most important inventors in American History and World History, with-out his contributions to electricity then this world could be a very different place. 

 

Edison to me is more of a Judge style of because he would ask what is wrong with this idea. When the light bulb was invented he wanted to try and make this something that everyone would use to him and his team would come up and create a different idea. Although there was nothing wrong with the light bulb he wanted to make it accessible for everyone. But I also found Edison to be a warrior because he would be dedicated to one thing and make sure that it worked all the way through. Also he would build a company off of what he invented and try and expand his company to over take the electric industry. He would always fight for what he would believe in, and sometimes that would actually be a bad move or his company. When Testla invented the A.C current and showed how this could used for electricity and create a better amperage over long distances, Edison found it to be to strong and not good for home owners. Little did Edison know, people agreed with Testla more than him and he would ultimately  lose his battle for the  electrified America.

Edison Miracle of Light – Rafael R.

Although, Thomas Edison is a rather famous gentleman and has an interesting story to tell, I found the movie pretty boring in general. Some parts of the movie were quite entertaining though. For example, when Edison’s hearing problem became more significant, he tapped out his marriage proposal in Morse code to his second wife on her wrist. What interested me most about his life is that he didn’t want to invent to create an object itself, he wanted to create an industry. In Menlo Park (his first research lab), he and his men would develop parts for the light bulb that would allow him to give life to the electricity industry. They made fixtures, sockets, switches, and generators; each of them making lighting more and more practical. The material was very well prepared. It was easy to follow and comprehend.

Thomas Edison possesses the characteristics of an ideal inventor, although he makes the lower class people wonder how somebody of their status could become so intelligent. He grew up lower class but was certainly a hard worker. He got by with usually only four hours of sleep per night which made him a great warrior. One of his mottos is “Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.” People jokingly said that if there was a needle in a haystack, he would examine the hay piece by piece until he found it. Aside from being a great warrior, he is just as great at being an explorer. He was a fan of research and most of the research he used, he discovered in his labs. He created the invention factory in Menlo Park and another research lab near his mansion after his first wife died. Edison had some artistic abilities as well. He created things from scratch, like the phonograph. It takes a bright mind to become an inventor. As a judge, Edison had the ability of making right decision and being able to control every aspect of his work. He would go around the lab helping other inventors that worked for him. When setting up the first electric stations, he supervised every part of the installation. He made the Edison Electric Company to manufacture light bulbs, because he needed more light bulbs than his glass blowers could produce. His well-rounded abilities as a problem solver contributed to his success.

Edison Miracle of Light- Desire’ B

The movie was much more interesting than I thought it would be. Trying to stay awake wasn’t too much of a problem at all. What interested me the most about Edison was his non-existent family life, and his dark side. Throughout school all they ever talked about was how Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. They never told us how much work he had to put into inventing the light bulb. I never knew that back in those times people thought that it couldn’t be done. I also found it interesting how he wasn’t much of a family man at all. I thought it was sad how he put his work before his wife and his children, but I guess that’s the price to pay to be a great inventor like he was. Never, would I have guess that Edison actually tortured animals to try and prove a point about how dangerous AC was. I also disliked how he suggested to executioners’ to use AC for an electric chair just to give it a bad rap. I don’t care if he did invent make an incandescent light bulb he lost major points from me.

                I think Thomas Edison displayed every different hat when he was inventing. In the movie they told how Edison and his workers would just play around with things, which is how they found the fiber or whatever to use in the light bulb which displays the artist’s hat. He was always reading, and learning how to do things more properly to which helped him in his inventions which displays the Explorer hat. I think he demonstrated the judge hat when he refused to convert to AC. He thought it was dangerous and wouldn’t change his assumptions about it. The warrior hat was definitely the strongest out of all of them. He never gave up on anything. It took him over 6 years until he had a functional light bulb when he thought it was only going to take six weeks.

Edison Miracle of Light- Laurence B.

      Although this documentary was outdated and on a VHS tape, It was very informative. I learned a lot about Edison and how, the way he is portrayed to us as kids is very different from the way he actually lived his life. Our middle school science teachers praised Edison as being the great inventor of the light bulb. As if all he ever did was work work work. In reality, drinking beer and playing the organ all hours of the night was the norm for Edison. He had a great passion for his inventing, and he let it get the best of him. The most interesting part of the documentary was when they began to explain the beginnings of electricity on the streets of New York. I like imagining what was going through the average citizens head,”What on Earth are they doing?” The information was presented well, a bit outdated for my taste but all of the information was good.

   Edison most definitely sported the hat of the warrior the best. Edison was the force behind electrifying the world. If he didn’t begin the push, the revolution would never have happened. Edison can be credited with the establishment of many of our daily entities. Watching a movie, listening to music, turning on the light. I wonder, if Edison never pushed these inventions, would they have ever become what they are today?

Keya Z.- Edison Miracle of Light

From the documentary I learned that Edison was very passionate about his work. That was his number one priority in life; his first love. It was interesting to see the steps he took to invent the working lightbulb. He spend countless hours working and minimum hours sleeping. His drive and determination was unlike any other ive seen. He is unique. I also found it fasinating that he knew that he had a hearing problem but opted not to try and invent a hearing aid because he felt that it gave him an advantage in blocking all the outside noise out when he was working. That helped him concentrate better. I noticed that he wore all the hats that were discussed (explorer, artist, judge, and warrior), but one that stuck out the most was judge. Edison would not consider a non-working bulb as a failure; he would look at it as a step in the right direction. No matter how many times he failed, he kept at it. The warrior inside him stuck out as well because he would want the whole world to see what he was doing and for them all the follow him. He does not wait for the opportunity; he goes out and grabs it.