Odd to think how far things have come. Sitting at the computer listening to the radio as an MP3 player charges has me wondering, “What would Thomas Edison think of all this?” Why Edison? He's probably the most famous inventor in the last three centuries, who – although he didn't quite do everything he's credited with – did, once, come to Sudbury. Why did the 'Magician of Menlo Park' come up here? Looking for nickel, why else.
But that isn't what has Edison come to mind. No, it was his invention of a way to store sound that did that. His device – the Phonograph – used a cylinder (originally tinfoil and later wax) but otherwise wasn't very different from modern record players. Still, it's a long way from a Phonograph to an MP3 player. Especially when you consider the steps needed to get from the one to the other.
A television program called 'Connections' did just that – taking viewers back through all the steps. Each week it followed the development of a different devise, through its previous incarnations and the seemingly unrelated breakthroughs needed before it could ever be created. For instance the refrigerator – it developed from the fight against malaria. Cold weather was known to stop mosquitoes. But several other discoveries needed to be made and technologies perfected before the refrigerator could be born – pumps, compressors, coolants – all of we now seem obvious thanks to hindsight.
The point is inventions don't just happen in a vacuum. Edison didn't invent the light bulb – despite the fact he gets the credit in text books – from proverbial whole cloth. He took other peoples ideas and worked from them. He perfected a practical light bulb. Does that lesson his contribution to history? No, not at all.
Technologically the world today is very different from the one young Thomas Edison was born into. But people aren't much changed. Most of us prefer the easy answers to the hard ones, the simple 'truths' to the complicated 'reality'. Like Edison 'inventing' the light bulb.
America is to blame for this. The old maxim “History is written by the victors” is a big part of it.
Look at the Alamo – the great Texas monument where brave Americans fought a gallant battle to the death against overwhelming forces. No question they were courageous but what were they fighting for – freedom? No, they were fighting for land. They were fighting for slavery. Check the record – the land both sides bled over had been set to be shared, except the Americans wanted to bring in slaves and the Mexicans were against slavery.
Hard to believe, right? Face facts, we've been brainwashed. Brainwashed by simple lies rather than complex truths. That's the other part…History – what we're taught in school – isn't what actually happened. Think of it as 'Lies told to children'.
Ask any American who won World War Two and the answer is – 'We did.' Not the Allies. The U.S.A. What about Britain, Canada, Australia and the rest? They were as integral to victory (some would argue more) as the Americans. But remembering these other contributions complicates history and so, in the States, they get ignored.
Now it may seem that I'm picking on our southern neighbour, but the truth is Canada is as guilty of this self-delusion as anyone. Proudly boasting of our role as the ultimate terminus of the Underground Railroad – but ignoring the shocking racism that was rampant in our history. Trumpeting the Transcontinental Railway but conveniently forgetting the cost in human lives. Revelling in our nation's high standard of living while whole communities live in conditions most of us don't believe still exist within our borders. There are dozens more examples of such blindness – which most of us are blissfully ignorant.
In many ways Thomas Edison had it easy. Sure the world was different back then, harder, but the people then weren't constantly reviewing and re-evaluating everything they knew, questioning themselves and their motives. No, they knew what they knew and weren't even interested in learning anything that might contradict that world view. We aren't so lucky. Everyday truths are revealed as half-truths or outright lies. The comforting sureties are no more. We're growing up and starting to see that the history – like so many other things – is nothing but 'lies told to children'.
Oh, in case you're wondering, Edison didn't find nickel. He ended up in modern day Falconbridge but stopped drilling too soon. A few dozen feet more and old Edison would have hit pay-dirt. Too bad, it would have made a great story. One suitable for children.
