Guess who I saw late last night on ABC Nightline Closeup?
(alright, the answer is in the title)
Dean Kamen!
If you missed it, here is a summary: Abcnews.com for Nightline UpClose/ Dean Keman
Broadcast Date: Jan. 1, 2003
(check www.abcnews.com)
Topics covered:
Dean defended the Segway.
He gave an honest interview about himself and his career.
Spoke about the life of an inventor.
Spoke about the invention process and method of thinking.
The dilemma of inventing for patient or inventing to help mankind.
The conception of FIRST. Started with the cultural issue of America.
A good review of what FIRST is about and how and why it was developed.
Criticized the Education system for not supporting the programs that promotes Science and technology.
He wants FIRST to be fun, cool, and will change the culture in the educational system.
āFIRST is not a past time.ā
Deanās slogan: āLife is short, work hard!ā
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It was one of the best Dean interviews Iāve seen.
Jan. 1 āāWe have created a culture that makes kids, particularly, think the goal is to find those things that are simply, in that immediate moment, fun. I mean, we give them slogans like, āLife is short, play hard.ā How about, āLife is short, work hard?ā You can have the hardest fun in the world.ā āInventor Dean Kamen
He works hard, but seems to have fun doing it. So it seems only right that we usher in a New Year with a man whoās always brimming with new ideas. He holds more than 150 patents and some of his inventions ā the product of that fine mix of perspiration and inspiration ā have been truly revolutionary.
It was a little more than a year ago that Dean Kamen unveiled his Segway Human Transporter to speed pedestrians along the sidewalks of urban centers. Unlike the stereotype of the inventor, this didnāt come to Kamen in the middle of the night as though a light bulb suddenly flickered above his head. He tells correspondent Don Dahler on tonightās UpClose, the process of invention is slow, tedious and anything but an epiphany: āThe only thing thatās even more slow, and more frustrating, and more tedious is watching people change and adopt things, even good things. I am sure the day after Edison made his light bulb, people read about it with the same candles that they and their parents and grandparents had used for centuries. And Iām sure the day after the Wright brothers flew, people got into their horse and buggy to run down to get the newspaper to see about this newfangled invention, and most thought it didnāt exist ā or if it did, itās an oddity. Whatās the big deal?ā
So too the segway. You wonāt see pedestrians adopt them overnight. For starters, they cost nearly $5000. But if you believe Kamen, society moves much slower than the wheels inside an inventorās head. Maybe the world will never fully embrace the Segway. But remember what they said about the airplane, automobile and television.
Among Kamenās better mousetraps are a wheelchair that climbs stairs called the IBOT and a portable, wearable drug infusion pump that is in wide use. But itās not so much the inventions that distinguish Kamen, itās his enthusiasm for solving problems and the circuitous way he gets there. "The invention process is incredibly messy. Itās incredibly frustrating. You go around, bump into the wall, try another place, bump into another wall, do a little more, bump into the same wall again and say, āGeez, Iāve been here before. Whatās wrong?ā
UpClose tonightā¦the big thinker who sheds a little light on the creative process from his New Hampshire workshop. Not a bad way to start 2003. Happy New Year!
In the East and Midwest, UpClose will be delayed tonight, Thursday and Friday by ABC Sports coverage of college bowl games. Tomorrow, youāll meet Martha Burk, the woman who has ignited a national debate about the men-only membership at Augusta National, home of the Masterās golf tournament. And on Friday, weāll talk with Stephon Marbury, the Phoenix Suns star whom weāve followed since he was a high school senior.
I mean, we give them slogans like, āLife is short, play hard.ā How about, āLife is short, work hard?ā You can have the hardest fun in the world." āInventor Dean Kamen
**
I saw the interview last night and IMed every person on the robotics team that was up at midnight. As soon as Dean said this quote my friend told me that should be the motto of my life (just cuz Iām a workoholic like that) so it went up on the AIM profile immediately.
Oh yeah, I got the new trivial pursuit for Christmas and there was a question and the answer was Dean Kamen. I set the card aside and Iāll copy it here one of these days.
*Originally posted by MrB *
**did anyone capture the video?
I missed it :-/
If you can send me ac opy or post a location I can download it from Iāll host it for other to download. **
At the end of every UpClose, they say āTo watch UpClose, any time of day, go to our website at abcnews.com.ā
It turns out, when you go there, that you need to subscribe to their ABCNEWS On Demand for $4.95 per month or $39.95 per year. They do offer a free 5-day trial, however.
Iām not sure Iāll have time to watch it anytime soon But Iāll save this e-mail so I can sit down and enjoy the video in ā¦ sayā¦ about SIX WEEKS
