If Edison had a needle to find in a haystack, he would proceed at once with the diligence of the bee to examine straw after straw until he found the object of his search. … I was a sorry witness of such doings, knowing that a little theory and calculation would have saved him ninety per cent of his labor.
Actually, it would save much more than 90 percent. More like 99.9%. Just take powerful magnet in your hand and start pushing through the haystack until you find it.
Which, of course, requires that you somehow know of magnets beforehand.
Which is exactly the point -- even if you are in business of finding needles in haystack it pays to have knowledge in other areas, and basically read books and other knowledge sources. You never know when it is going to pay off.
If Edison had a needle to find in a haystack, he would proceed at once with the diligence of the bee to examine straw after straw until he found the object of his search. … I was a sorry witness of such doings, knowing that a little theory and calculation would have saved him ninety per cent of his labor.