Thomas Edison: Inventor Costly Amusement
on Saturday, October 13, 2018Thomas Edison Money Quote saying inventors pay less attention to marketability than personal interest in their inventions and end up creating expenses only. Thomas Edison said:
“Most inventors who have an idea never stop to think whether their invention will be saleable when they get it made. Unless a man has plenty of money to throw away, he will find that making inventions is about the costliest amusement he can find” — Thomas Edison
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Thomas Edison is cautioning inventors that developing and commercializing inventions is an expensive process that requires serious consideration of whether an invention can actually be sold profitably on the market. He notes that unless one has significant funds to spend without regard for financial losses, pursuing inventions purely as a hobby or amusement will likely end up being an extremely costly endeavor.
Edison’s point seems to be that inventors need to think practically about commercial viability and demand for their ideas, not just the inventing process itself, or they risk wasting a great deal of money trying to bring inventions to market that have little chance of earning back development costs. His advice is to properly assess saleability and avoid treating invention as an indulgent pastime without regard for financial sustainability.
Birthday: February 11, 1847 – Death: October 18, 1931