Re:A skeptical response to Musk's hyperloop
by hollerith on Wednesday August 14, 2013 @09:11AM
(#6211231)
It's wrong to think that Einstein was "coming from a different field". He had a PhD in physics from a good school. In his day, physics jobs were much scarcer, so perfectly ordinary physicists tended to need to get non-physics jobs for parts of their careers.
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Re:A skeptical response to Musk's hyperloop
by danso on Wednesday August 14, 2013 @10:01AM
(#6211513)
Perhaps a better example is how an aspiring poet came to invent the most effective infantry weapon of the last century: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Kalashnikov
Re:A skeptical response to Musk's hyperloop
by lclarkmichalek on Wednesday August 14, 2013 @10:08AM
(#6211553)
An aspiring poet who had also been a tank mechanic/weapons designer for 9~ years prior to inventing the most effective infantry weapon of the last century
Re:A skeptical response to Musk's hyperloop
by danso on Wednesday August 14, 2013 @10:20AM
(#6211631)
Yes, but he was conscripted in his teens and had begun innovating at that young age.
Re:A skeptical response to Musk's hyperloop
by agilebyte on Wednesday August 14, 2013 @11:01AM
(#6211897)
Not sure it is a good analogy. From the article you are referencing he wanted to be an engineer, just an agricultural one. WW2 changed that.
Also, he seems to acknowledge the fact that he was standing on the shoulders of giants:
But one thing is clear: before attempting to create something new, it is vital to have a good appreciation of everything that already exists in this field. I myself have had many experiences confirming this to be so.
Re:A skeptical response to Musk's hyperloop
by jacquesm on Wednesday August 14, 2013 @11:01AM
(#6211898)
No, a better example is Elon Musk himself. Paypal, SpaceX, Tesla. That's a pretty good run and I don't think anybody will claim he was an insider to all three industries before he made a significant dent in them.