Nikola Tesla, Lonely Genius Of Light

We can easily say that Nikola Tesla was the genius who lit up the world. To imagine a world without him, all you have to do is turn off the light. But if you want to get to know this figure fully, you must also add the loneliness and incomprehension that often characterize great minds. Always complex and always fascinating.

One of Tesla’s most famous quotes had him immortalized by the journalists of his day. This quote also sketches a little more of his fierce and always ‘gimmicky’ style. “The present is yours, but the future is mine.”

Maybe he has a point. Many people claim that without him our world would be more like the silent forest of the Sleeping Beauty. For it would be a dark land, no radio, no television, no big industries or the incessant buzz of our modern cities.

Because we have to thank Tesla for the induction coil that ushered in the era of radio. He was also the designer of the transmission system that carries electrical energy to our homes, from the remote control, the wireless telegraph, X-rays and MRI. Another of his engineering dreams was the “Wardenclyffe” project. This ultimately failed and was forgotten. His goal was to provide the whole world with free wireless energy.

According to many, this modern Prometheus of Serbian descent fell into oblivion in his attempts to confront the power of industry. Because he tried to make their facilities more accessible.

But what we don’t talk about very often is Tesla’s personality, his psychology, and the person behind the genius.  So come with us now and get to know this remarkable historical figure a little better.

Creativity and Discipline: The Complex Mind of Nikola Tesla

There are several books that go deeper into the universe of Nikola Tesla.  One of these books is  Lightning  by Jean Echenoz. Yet another book is  Nikola Tesla, personality and neurosis,  by the Serbian physician Zarko Trebjesanin.

Tesla has always been an intelligent person with a high IQ. But his genius was also fueled by something he began to practice from an early age: stubborn, obstinate discipline.

The Demons of Nikola Tesla

When he got an idea, he wouldn’t let it go until it had fully formed or until he had completely discarded it. We know that he slept little and ate less and less. Early on in his life, he also believed that creativity required strict rules, concrete planning and controlled emotions.

His science had an iron willpower. He even went so far as to become an ascetic. He also wanted to avoid all “sentimental” relationships. Because according to him, this kind of relationship would cause him to lose objectivity in his creative work.

This was undoubtedly something he later regretted. In some interviews, he even spoke about his loneliness. He admitted that creativity takes passion. But he also said that his hungry ghost was also one of his greatest enemies. He was always full of ideas. Complicated projects overwhelmed him like storms. They had a power like lightning and he could do nothing but obey them.

Nikola Tesla came to New York in the year 1885. All he took with him was a notebook full of calculations, a mind full of ideas, a few poems and four cents in his pocket. But he knew very well what he wanted to achieve.

Just a year later, he had already sold a patent for the AC motor to George Westinghouse. In addition, he had already been engaged in a conflict with his nemesis Thomas Edison in what was then known as the “war of the currents”.

Unfortunately, many of Tesla’s ideas were not fulfilled. He has never seen the world connected by electricity and invisible systems, or at least not in the way he had hoped. He stumbled upon two major rivals: the ironclad system and policies that were incompatible with Tesla’s “risky” ideas. In addition, he suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder. At the end of his life, this problem took away his energy and health.

A noble compulsive spirit

The last years of Tesla’s life were exceptionally difficult. His obsessive-compulsive disorder took over much of his daily routine. He lived in hotels, where he always asked for eighteen towels. He rarely ate. But when he did eat something, he asked the staff to put eighteen napkins on the table.

Tesla always stayed in room 207, because this number is divisible by three. His strange obsession with the number three and the idea of ​​giving the world free wireless energy robbed him of his health and his balance. He set such high standards for himself that his neurosis escalated. Sounds caused him pain; he became hypersensitive. Moreover, he had no money left because he had no sense of business or ambition.

He sold all his patents and died in extreme poverty. He left all kinds of works and documents that others used to get rich. Today, the Tesla name has regained its luster and sense of progress. We now also associate his name with the altruism of a person who never wanted to enrich himself, but only wanted to put science at the service of humanity.