The Legitimacy of Discovery

The Age of Edison: Electric Light and the Invention of Modern America, written by Ernest Freeberg brings to question the ethos and of historical inventor and scholar Thomas Edison. It is safe to say that Freebergs work does not simply aim to tear down the merits of Edison based on a personal coral with the historian. Rather Freeberg used Edison as a primary example of the need to question legitimacy. It is the duty of all people to not judge a book by a cover and rather to question the source, and nature of any creation.

Freebergs work surrounding the origin of the lightbulb support an example of questioning common conceptions; or rather misconceptions. For example Freeberg mentions why exactly it is he believes Edison should not be credited with the invention of the light bulb:

“He was in a very competitive race where he borrowed—some said stole—ideas from other inventors who were also working on an incandescent bulb. What made him ultimately successful was that he was not a lone inventor, a lone genius, but rather the assembler of the first research and development team at Menlo Park, N.J” (Berger, 2013)

Freebergs, work suggest that Edison’s success was contingent upon compounding research and development. The work by Freeberg bolsters the idea that Edison was not the sole producer of facts and information in regards to developing revolutionary technology, and furthermore Edison may have even been desperate in his attempt to be deemed the inventor. Overall the concept that Edison ethos has come into question should be of no surprise because it the creation of the lightbulb represents a example of historical generalizations, and bias in the education system. And with the presents of potential Biases there’s always a need to question the facts.