15 Hacker News comments link this video. Each one links back to its thread.
teleforceMar 2026Strongly recommends
>It is absolutely stupid to talk about this as edisons revenge. If Tesla had the modern high power transistors needed to get high voltage dc out of the ac produced from a spinning turbine he would be all for high voltage dc too. This! The soon people realized these facts the better. The pervasive high rise buildings did not happen before the invention of modern cranes. Exactly twenty years ago I was doing a novel research on GaN characterization, and my supervisors made a lot money with consulations around the world, and succesfully founded govt funded start-up company around the technology. Together with SiC, these are the two game changing power devices with wideband semiconductor technology that only maturing recently. Heck, even the Nobel price winning blue LED discovery was made feasible by GaN. Watch the excellent video made by Veritasium for this back story [1]. [1] Why It Was Almost Impossible to Make the Blue LED: ▶ this video
in “In Edison’s Revenge, Data Centers Are Transitioning From AC to DC” · View on HN
waltboszJun 2025Strongly recommends
I (and my 6-year-old) really enjoyed this video from Veritasium about the invention of the blue LED. ▶ this video
in “US Streetlights Are Turning Purple” · View on HN
Eddy_Viscosity2Mar 2026Recommends
The guy who figured out how to make a blue LED (which was world changing), also worked every single day . Fascinating story: ▶ this video
in “Just make it hard to fail” · View on HN
CentigonalApr 2025Recommends
The human race has benefited greatly from individual researchers who made their work the main source of value in their life, and from societies, patrons, and government institutions who gave these people the stability and financial support to pursue such a single minded focus. Two fascinating examples: [link] ▶ this video
in “” · View on HN
btillyNov 2024Recommends
I think that this is a general trend. Various fields tend to get into groupthink, and it is hard for people who buck the trend to pursue the usual academic path to research. But usually the herd has gone down a wrong turn, and it is up to a random rebel to make the next key discovery. For an extreme example, I recommend Veratasium's video on blue LEDs, ▶ this video . But despite how extreme that example is, it does seem to be a trend. The direction that the herd has gone has been generally well-explored simply because a herd of researchers have already gone there. If they've found nothing, you'll probably find nothing either. So you have to back up. Sadly, the way that academia is structured discourages this at every turn. :-(
in “A stubborn computer scientist accidentally launched the deep learning boom” · View on HN
bcrlSep 2024Recommends
And we only have blue LEDs due to the sheer stubbornness of Shuji Nakamura. If you haven't already heard the tale of its development, head over here and enjoy: ▶ this video
in “Linear, symmetric, self-selecting 14-bit molecular memristors (2023)” · View on HN
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ndcatorMar 2024Recommends
What about the more recent invention of blue pigment LED? ▶ this video I found this story facing regarding the inventors determination
in “The invention of blue and purple pigments in ancient times (2006)” · View on HN
wernseyMar 2024Recommends
Veritasium had this video about the history of sewing machines recently [1]. I remember watching it and ended up in awe of how something that we take for granted took a journey of several thousand years to be get invented. While I'm thinking about it, his recent video about the development of blue LEDs [2] is very interesting as well if you haven't seen it. [1] [link] [2] ▶ this video
in “Ask HN: Do you also marvel at the complexity of everyday objects?” · View on HN
zekyl314Mar 2024Recommends
I suggest you watch this video as well, is goes into great detail on what it took to make the blue LED. It's quite fascinating. ▶ this video
in “Isamu Akasaki’s blue LEDs changed how we light our world” · View on HN
swframe2Feb 2024Recommends
The Veritasium youtube channel has a few interesting videos related to this topic: This one is on IQ: [link] Pay attention to the stats on how IQ correlates to success (near the end). This one is about becoming an expert: [link] This one is about someone who just worked harder than everyone else: ▶ this video
in “Ask HN: Slow thinkers, how do you compensate for your lack of quick-wittedness?” · View on HN
th2o4j2342334Feb 2025Cites it
I doubt you can attribute Shuji Nakamura's success entirely to the "Japanese model". ▶ this video The man was a genius, and his success is mostly his alone.
in “Japan can be a science heavyweight once more if it rethinks funding” · View on HN
yujzgzcFeb 2025Cites it
And you can thank this guy for the LEDs that made it possible for you to even read about it on a screen ▶ this video
in “After 20 years, math couple solves major group theory problem” · View on HN
aurareturnJan 2025Cites it
Is this true? What were the revenues of lighting companies before compared to now? Do we count TV screen makers because they’re LEDs as well? I just watched Veritasium’s video on how LEDs were indented and the companies making LEDs saw exponential increase in revenue. ▶ this video Basic Google search tells me the lighting industry has experienced high growth due to the invention of LED lighting.
in “Jevons paradox” · View on HN
Pet_AntApr 2024Cites it
And yet there are stories of people ignoring the company direction, continuing work, and saving the company. See: The Blue LED ▶ this video So it’s not clear that the company knows better. Feels like educated guesses but a lof of luck involved.
in “The Rise and Fall of Silicon Graphics” · View on HN
nextaccounticMar 2024Cites it
In real life, the inventor of the blue led was basically scammed by his company. The company earned a lot of money and basically shifted the whole business to produce blue leds. Veritasium recently made a video about that ▶ this video I think this illustrate another point: patents should protect inventors, not companies. Companies shouldn't be able to amass a "portfolio" of patents to bully their competition either.
in “EFF: Tell Congress: We Can't Afford More Bad Patents” · View on HN