Edison tops Jobs as world's greatest innovator

(CBS News) 

A group of 1,000 young people consider the world's greatest innovator to be Thomas Edison, whose crowning left the late Steve Jobs in second place.

Edison, the creator of the light bulb and phonograph, among many other inventions, earned the top title among 52 percent of those polled by Lemelson-MIT, a program that tries to honor inventors who have improved our lives and gauge peoples' perceptions about innovation.

Often lauded for his spirit of creativity, especially following his death, Jobs took second place with 24 percent citing him as the greatest innovator of all time.

The results surprised the researchers at Lemelson-MIT since the survey was aimed at people in the U.S. from 16 to 25 years old, an age group considered part of the "Apple generation." In fact, when asked how smartphones and tablets influence their lives, 40 percent of those polled said they couldn't imagine their lives without such devices.

In a further nod to past innovators, those polled put Alexander Graham Bell in third place for his invention of the phone, followed by Marie Curie for her work in the field of radioactivity.

Now in its 16th year, the latest Lemelson-MIT Invention Index polled 1,010 people altogether between December 9 and 15 of last year.

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[jay8754]

I find comparing Jobs and Zuckerberg with the likes of Marie Curie, Edison, and Bell offensive in the extreme. Marie Curie for one, was a great scientist, she was humble and deeply concerned about her fellow man. That hardly would describe either Jobs or Zuckerberg. Is the only requirement for greatness in the 21st Century making more money than anyone else while designing technology to discourage people from direct communication and common courtesy? That is a sad statement indeed about the current and future generations.

[ianlou]

The greatest Inventor of All Time was Nikola Tesla. He has over 300 patents on inventions involving electricity. He is the man who designed the modern electrical grid, AC power Generation, AC Motors, 17 pattents used to transmit Radio, (Marconi lost the credit to Tesla for the first Radio) Remote Control, Auto Ignition system, and the famous Tesla Coil. Tesla was Right and Edison was wrong about how to distribue electricity; Edison pushed for DC which was and still is, infeasable.