quote · Legacy record
Edison was by far the most successful and, probably, the last exponent of the purely empirical method of investigation. Everything he achieved was the result of persistent trials and experiments often performed at random but always attesting extraordinary vigor and resource. Starting from a few known elements, he would make their combinations and permutations, tabulate them and run through the whole list, completing test after test with incredible rapidity until he obtained a clue. His mind was dominated by one idea, to leave no stone unturned, to exhaust every possibility.
Edison was by far the most successful and, probably, the last exponent of the purely empirical method of investigation. Everything he achieved was the result of persistent trials and experiments often performed at random but always attesting extraordinary vigor and resource. Starting from a few known elements, he would make their combinations and permutations, tabulate them and run through the whole list, completing test after test with incredible rapidity until he obtained a clue. His mind was dominated by one idea, to leave no stone unturned, to exhaust every possibility.
Approximate author period: c. 1899 AD · industrial
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- Author or tradition
- Nikola Tesla
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
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- Approximate author period: c. 1899 AD · industrial
Approximate author-period evidence for Nikola Tesla: life dates 1856 to 1943. Wikidata Q9036, inspected 2026-10-08. Not a quotation composition date or independent verification of attribution. Source: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q9036 (accessed 2026-10-08).
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Supplied reference C; CSV row 129927; supplied attribution, independently unverified
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