Bon Journal

5th anniversary of analyticalQ

The long awaited 5th anniversary of analyticalQ.com, the mother site of Bon Journal, has arrived!

Yet, where is the March issue of Le Bon Journal, the monthly ezine?

Perhaps I was too ambitious. Perhaps the topic of "anniversaries" isn't forthcoming. Whatever the case, I have received only one contribution worth publishing.

So I've decided to do two things:

1- publish that article destined for Le Bon Journal ezine of March 2004

and

2- make Le Bon Journal ezine into a quarterly ezine - instead of a monthly ezine.

There is a price to keep analyticalQ and its children (Bon Journal and Le Bon Journal) independent, alive, and free. Something has got to give, or rather, something has to be given up.

The following article was submitted by Joan Yap from Singapore. She is a regular contributor to Le Bon Journal. Thank you, Joan.

2004 marks the 125th anniversary of the electric bulb

"If Thomas Edison had an MBA, we would have bigger
candles instead of the electric bulb" someone declared
in mockery of the mass-production of MBAs today. That
was not a fair statement whatever the intention. With
due respect to inventors alike, I would rather say
that one does not need to have an MBA to invent
anything. But there was some truth in that statement.

What have we learned from this invention, besides that
one needs knowledge, passion and commitment to be an
inventor?

Prior to Edison's accomplishment, two Englishmen -
Humphry Davy and Joseph Swan created the carbon arc in
1800 and electric lamp in 1860 respectively, paving
the way for Edison to improve and patent his work
based on theirs. Davy was a scientist, Swan a
physicist, and Edison an American businessman. Swan
had exhibited his incandescent bulb in 1878, a year
before Edison demonstrated the first practical light
bulb by lighting his Menlo Park laboratory complex in
December 1879.

So, why is Edison known as the Inventor of the Light
Bulb?

It's all about commercializing. Edison had invested
into making every one of these elements of the light
bulb into practical, reproducible components and spent
several years developing the electric industry. He
made his millions not from the invention of a single
light bulb but from building the entire value chain
for that invention, and making his name known to
millions around the world.

An invention without a viable commercial application
and practical production process is as good as a
concept, an unpublished thought, an unfinished
painting or just another wacky idea. So, if and when I
stumble upon an invention, I will certainly apply all
the business strategies and experience available in
order to guarantee fame and fortune.

In conclusion, I prefer to acknowledge Joseph Swan as
the inventor of the light bulb and Thomas Edison the
father of our lighted world. For without Edison's
efforts, we would not be able to work through the
night and in enclosed environments like submarines or
space shuttles and engaged in 24-hour global business.
Perhaps the world would not have changed so much so
fast. Perhaps we might really be using bigger candles
today.

Joan Yap
Singapore

15 March 2004 Monday

Le Bon Journal ezine

Le Bon Journal newsletter, volume 2, issue 3: The fourth anniversary of analyticalQ.com, platform for self-expression

analyticalQ 4th anniversary dim sum - Bon Journal entry, 15 March 2003

Third anniversary of analyticalQ.com - Bon Journal entry, 15 March 2002

Second anniversary of analyticalQ.com - Bon Journal entry, 15 March 2001