Nikola Tesla Books
CHAPTER EIGHT The curious nature of Tesla's visions interested me a great deal. I had always been fascinated by the creative process and by the way an idea is generated and perfected. But I was also cautious as to how much truth there was in this story of plans appearing directly in Tesla's mind. Could the story be a romantic elaboration on the part of Tesla's friends or even a piece of mystification created by Tesla himself? Other scientists and artists had left accounts of the flash of insight which occurs in the calm, relaxed moments following a period of concentration on a particular problem. Although the creative breakthrough may seem to occur in an instant, it is always preceded by weeks or months of hard work which at the time had seemed to produce little result. Yet even after the greatest flashes of genius, hard work must follow before the idea can grow to practical form. Details have to be worked out and different techniques tried. Often the creative flash is not so much the solution to a problem as a new way of seeing things. Armed with a new perception, the old difficulties are swept away. But in all the other cases I had read about, hard work separated the initial insight from its final goal. In Tesla's case a more dramatic process seems to have occurred; but, again, I found myself wishing for more concrete evidence as to the many claims made about Tesla and his achievements. Further reading helped me to realize that there was a connecting thread in Tesla's nature, which began in his teens when he spoke of dedicating his life to science and using reason and imagination to improve the world. I reflected that it is not unusual for a young person to give his life to a consuming idea. It could be poetry, sport, religion, even hedonism. Anything which an individual can embrace with his whole energy so that it gives a sense of meaning to his life. The romantic poets of the nineteenth century, for example, had been willing to give their lives for the refinement of experience and the intoxication of their senses. Tesla seemed to be of the same mould as these poets, but in his case it involved a dedication to science. In arriving at his decision, however, Tesla felt it necessary to cut away what he saw as the weakness in his nature. He resolved to drive himself through pure reason and leave feeling and emotion by the wayside. In fact, his ideal was the man-machine, an efficient intellect whose judgements would be made without emotional interference. 22 72
