The two-story wooden framed building was lit by the soft glow of gas lamps—ironic, given who was in charge. The small team huddled around a cluttered workbench was focused and intense, their movements deliberate, as they toiled over their latest endeavor.
I think innovation has always been the cornerstone of what it means to be human. And I think it all boils down ultimately the concept of 'understanding'. I think I agree with Sir Roger Penrose who says that whatever the modern definition of AGI may be, it can never encompass the feature of 'understanding' in the human sense. Great article @Andrew. I love articles like these that make me think deeply about things.
Thank you for this article. It is great to be reminded of all these inventive minds around the world. How amazing they were. I also love how many things were invented to do one task, and then turned out to be better at another task entirely.
For example, Chinese alchemists were trying to create the elixir of life. But their mixture caught fire, and instead of the elixir of life they had invented gunpowder.
I had the opportunity to work for Bell Labs back on the before and after the Consent Decree that broke up the Bell Telephone monopoly. I worked on the development end with our ill fated attempt to break into the mini and micro computer market in Naperville IL while the basic research was done in New Jersey.
I would also suggest visiting The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn MI where it shows the constant development and churn of innovation.
Also in the adjacent Greenfield Village, Henry Ford moved Edison’s Menlo Park building to the grounds, along with other inventors like the Wright Brothers bicycle shop, etc.
So Edison basically invented "mass production" for inventions. Fascinating.
I think innovation has always been the cornerstone of what it means to be human. And I think it all boils down ultimately the concept of 'understanding'. I think I agree with Sir Roger Penrose who says that whatever the modern definition of AGI may be, it can never encompass the feature of 'understanding' in the human sense. Great article @Andrew. I love articles like these that make me think deeply about things.
I am working on something about AGI now, although it's also about philosophy, like so many of these conundrums. Thanks, Mir!
Eventually, Edison outgrew Menlo Park and relocated his team to a much larger and spacious facility in Orange, New Jersey.
Thank you for this article. It is great to be reminded of all these inventive minds around the world. How amazing they were. I also love how many things were invented to do one task, and then turned out to be better at another task entirely.
For example, Chinese alchemists were trying to create the elixir of life. But their mixture caught fire, and instead of the elixir of life they had invented gunpowder.
Yes! I have written about this: https://goatfury.substack.com/p/chocolate-bars-and-microwaves
I need to revisit the concept. There are SO MANY great examples like this.
I had the opportunity to work for Bell Labs back on the before and after the Consent Decree that broke up the Bell Telephone monopoly. I worked on the development end with our ill fated attempt to break into the mini and micro computer market in Naperville IL while the basic research was done in New Jersey.
I would also suggest visiting The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn MI where it shows the constant development and churn of innovation.
Also in the adjacent Greenfield Village, Henry Ford moved Edison’s Menlo Park building to the grounds, along with other inventors like the Wright Brothers bicycle shop, etc.
Dale, I really want to visit Dearborn for this reason. I also want to write about Bell Labs in the somewhat near future!