Nikola Tesla described the modern smartphone — in 1926
Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) was a pioneer scientist during the turn of the 20th century best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. Tesla was a physicist, mechanical and electric engineer, inventor and futurist, as well as the possessor of a near-eidetic memory. He spoke eight languages and held 300 patents by the end of his life. His legacy has experienced a major resurgence in recent years — the name Tesla, as you might have heard, is way in vogue right now — as many of his predictions about power and communication have come to fruition.
The quote below does well to show just how prophetic Tesla was. Here he basically sums up a modern smartphone… in 1926:
“When wireless is perfectly applied the whole earth will be converted into a huge brain, which in fact it is, all things being particles of a real and rhythmic whole. We shall be able to communicate with one another instantly, irrespective of distance. Not only this, but through television and telephony we shall see and hear one another as perfectly as though we were face to face, despite intervening distances of thousands of miles; and the instruments through which we shall be able to do his will be amazingly simple compared with our present telephone. A man will be able to carry one in his vest pocket.”
The world is full of Tesla fans and devotees, though the most notable is almost certainly Elon Musk. Check out the video below featuring the Tesla CEO:
