[jacquesm]

Dean Kamen has a track record that is typical of any serial inventor, some hits, lots of misses. He sometimes is way ahead of the curve and manages to get it right, most of the times it goes nowhere.

Still, he's better off than most of us and he's living proof that inventors don't need to die penniless.

Whatever he's saying, there is always some little gem in there that you probably hadn't thought of. The world is a -much- better place with him in it, an interesting and productive person and with a reasonably nice personality.

Truely an original and inspiring figure for anybody that likes to invent things or that dreams of improving the world.

Here is a picture of his house by the way, I've never seen anything quite like it:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/55/119467546_72bf35b18c.jpg?v...

[locopati]

That looks sustainable. I applaud what he's done but also wonder how "owns two jets, two helicopters and a private island" fits with deep concerns about sustainability. Mind you, I'm sure on the balance he's still ahead when it comes to giving back more than he's taken.

[jacquesm]

That's a good point. I think that very few people actually practice what they preach.

The way in which society rewards successful people is to give them lots of money, I suspect that the real equation is not just whether you've given back during your life more than what you have taken but how much you will have influenced the world for the worse or the better in the long term.

In that sense it is a lot harder to figure out how much a single individual can change things.

Two jets, two helicopters and an island sound a bit over the top, but I think I'd have to know more about the uses they're being put to before I'd make a call on that.