Dr. NakaMats Is the World's Most Prolific Inventor 194
MMBK writes to share an interesting look at Dr. "NakaMats" Nakamatsu, mastermind behind a world-record 3,000 patents. The 81-year-old scientist has inventions like the "PyonPyon" spring shoes, the karaoke machine, and others. He's also at least partly to blame for things like the digital watch, the floppy disk, and CDs. "Dr. Nakamatsu harbors other ambitions too: in 2007, he took his penchant for political campaigning to a new level, becoming a candidate in the gubernatorial election in Tokyo, and the election for the Upper House. Although he failed to get a seat, Dr. NakaMats has other tricks up his sleeve. In 2005 he was awarded the Ig Nobel prize for Nutrition, for photographing and retrospectively analyzing every meal he has consumed during a period of 34 years (and counting). By the time he dies at the age of 144 (a goal he maintains with an elaborate daily ritual that rejuvenates his body and triggers his creative process), he intends to patent 6,000 inventions."
Re:So, is he rich? (Score:1, Insightful)
TFA is a video. (Score:5, Insightful)
Warning: TFA is a video with a summary that's got little more than what's in the submission: Naka is obsessive about his food, and wants to run for office.
I know I'm not the only one who doesn't have patience for video articles. It's like sitting in class waiting for the teacher to explain every concept at the speed of the slowest learner in class. I can read a written article in 1/5th the time it takes me to watch a video.
Besides. Video is so twentieth century.
(My lawn. You're standing on it.)
Quit with the fucking (Score:5, Insightful)
Correction (Score:5, Insightful)
He is not necessarily the world's most prolific inventor but simply the one with the most patents. They are not the same thing despite what the patent lobby would have you believe.
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Creating simple artificial scarcity with copyright and patents on things that can be copied billions of times at minimal cost is a fundamentally stupid economic idea.
Call me skeptical (Score:5, Insightful)
Okay, the guy is 81. I hate to rip on him too much, but it really seems like he's mostly known for submitting patents.
None of the floppy disk history that I looked up mentioned anything about him except that IBM has some deal with him to prevent a "conflict". Patent troll? The CD history I glanced through didn't mention him either. At best, I think he could say that he made some minor contribution to the CD - not that he had invented it. The video showed a bunch of his other inventions, like a magical chair that makes you more creative or something. He mentioned that a US cancer patient wanted to sit in it. And that proves what? Quack quack quack.
Then he's ragging on Edison in the video... a guy who actually invented useful shit.
Seems like a bit of a whack job with an image of himself out of proportion to what he's actually accomplished.
Re:Correction (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Hamburger Earmuffs (Score:3, Insightful)
What if it's a PowerMac?
Re:Call me skeptical (Score:4, Insightful)
Thank you for this post. This guy's been making the rounds again, and everytime he's been shown to be a borderline nut and a chronic patent applyer. Getting a patent is simply a matter of money, not ability, talent, or creativity. Apple has patents on sliding your finger across a touch screen and Amazon has its infamous one-click patent. Companies like Tivo find it more profitable to sue over patents than to actually sell a product.
This guy represents nothing but the lax process of getting a patent mixed in with some medical quackery.