Do you guys know who Philo Farnsworth was?
Posted by
David (aka David)
Jun 8 '10, 22:12
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�You guys know who Philo Farnsworth was?
He invented television.� I don't mean he invented television like Uncle Milty [Milton Berle].�
I mean he invented the television in a little house in Provo, Utah, at a time when the idea of transmitting moving pictures through the air would be like me saying I figured out a way to beam us aboard the Starship Enterprise.
He was a visionary.� He died broke and without fanfare.�
The guy I really like though was his brother-in-law, Cliff Gardner.�
He said, �Philo, I know everyone thinks you're crazy, but I want to be a part of this.� I don't have your head for science, so I'm not going to be able to help much with the design and mechanics of the invention, but it sounds like you're going to need glass tubes.�
You see, Philo was inventing the Cathode Ray Tube [CRT], and even though Cliff didn't know what that meant or how it worked, he'd seen Philo's drawing, and he knew that he was going to need glass tubes.� And since television hadn't been invented yet, it's not like you could get them at the local TV repair shop.
�I want to be a part of this,� Cliff said. �I don't have your head for science.� How would it be if I were to teach myself to be a glass blower?� And I could set up a little shop in the backyard.� And I could make all the tubes you'll need for testing.�
There ought to be Congressional Medals for people like that.
[At this point, and quite understandably, executive management was very confused.]
I've looked over the notes you've been giving over the last year or so, and I have to say they exhibit an almost total lack of understanding of how to get the best from talented people.
You said before that for whatever reason, I seem to be able to exert some authority around here.
I assure you it's not because they like me.� It's because they knew two minutes after I walked in the door, I'm someone who knows how to do something.
I can help.
I can make glass tubes.
That's what they need.�
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