My late-night reading currently consists of the book "Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla; Biography of a Genius" by Marc J. Seifer. For anyone looking to learn more about the man, this seems to be the most comprehensive biography available. While only half through it so far, it's been an enjoyable and enlightening read.
The author's occasional dry humour is also quite welcome. Here's a sample:
"Due to his meager funds and general inability to budget himself, Tesla had but one suit, which had withered from use. It was the time of a religious festival, and Szigeti inquired what Tesla would be wearing. Stuck for an answer, the youthful inventor came upon the clever idea of turning his suit inside out, planning thereby to show up with a seemingly new set of clothes. All night was spent tailoring and ironing. But when one starts with a wrong premise, no amount of patching can right the problem. The outfit looked ridiculous, and Tesla stayed home instead."
He had his own vision of a "singularity" basically interconnectedness of all human kind across earth to "rid ourselves" of war. Free energy, etc. Held full models of his machines and ideas in his head (spatially fascinating) before construction.
Several nervous of mental breakdowns when over-working, strange debilitating flashes of light, etc. Probably some brain chemistry idiosyncrasies.
Right, I thought the idea of Tesla, as a wizard of science among mere squabbling magicians, a fun plot notion. That they dealt with him, almost alone and in his secret keep, surrounded by the mysteries of his work, a wonderful spin on the mythos surrounding Tesla.
It helps that Tesla's personality was bit off in real life, and he did things that even today we think of as a kind of magic.
Of course in the movie what he built was impossible, but the notion that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" kept creeping into my mind.
The author's occasional dry humour is also quite welcome. Here's a sample: "Due to his meager funds and general inability to budget himself, Tesla had but one suit, which had withered from use. It was the time of a religious festival, and Szigeti inquired what Tesla would be wearing. Stuck for an answer, the youthful inventor came upon the clever idea of turning his suit inside out, planning thereby to show up with a seemingly new set of clothes. All night was spent tailoring and ironing. But when one starts with a wrong premise, no amount of patching can right the problem. The outfit looked ridiculous, and Tesla stayed home instead."