STUDENTS ABOUT TESLA

Nikola Tesla, a common name, but a unique story. Whenever I hear this name, my mind gives me allocations of a spark, electric power, X-rays and radio frequencies used in different fields such as Science, Medicine and Environment. These inventions are not of actuality indeed, but how many minds did they challenge? How many lives did they save and change? And more importantly, who gave the chance to humankind to enter an era of new technologies?

The contribution of his genius to science particularly and humanity in general can only be seen by those who know to appreciate, Tesla is everywhere around, from the light at our places, to the smart phones we daily use. Tesla did not just set the technology basis; but he radically changed our habits to forever. His limitless imagination led him to be the starter of nowadays industrialized civilization, even if he was always misunderstood and criticized, his only mistake was that he has been born ahead of his time. When once he announced that he could develop a ‘’wireless energy” and “remote controlled machines”, his peers said he was crazy, but the fact was that he could visualize his inventions, and our present adoption of his inventions witnesses and confirms the truth of his statements almost a century later.

As an Operations Research Engineer, Nikola Tesla inspires me by his:

Humanity:

The main researches he made were in order to give to humanity a better life, he was constantly determined to provide power equally to everyone on earth, and this value caused him disagreements with his investors and put him into permanent conflicts with the competitors of his time, but he never gave up on his personal mission.

Resilience:

His life has not been that easy that we could imagine. Being able to stand out of a crowd composed of Edison and Einstein is enough said to describe his genius, he believed in his work when nobody did. He got fired, insulted, his alternating current model was rejected, treated as a fool, his laboratory was even burned but he kept trying. His answer to his enemies was not a word, but master pieces of like no other inventions. When the world elite were impressed by relativity and quantum mechanics, he declared: “The present time is theirs, but the future is mine!”.

Humble spirit:

Tesla was aware of his outstanding potential, he knew how unique his researches were but he never overestimated himself. He asked for advices and involved other people in his works, and when the world praised his inventions, he modestly commented: “I am not an inventor, I am a discoverer”.

In his memory, I would like to say: thank you Nikola Tesla not for enlightening our daily life, but for enlightening our minds.

Ishaq Badis BOUTALEB

University of Science and Technology of Algiers – Algeria