“The Post editors asked: “Is the age of invention passing?” Edison answered: “Passing?” he repeated, in apparent astonishment that such a question should be asked. “Why, it hasn’t started yet. That ought to answer your question. Do you want anything else?” “You believe, then, that the next 50 years will see as great a mechanical and scientific development as the past half century?” the Post queried Edison. “Greater. Much greater,” he replied. “Along what lines do you expect this development?” they asked him. “Along all lines.” This wasn’t blind optimism. Edison understood the process of scientific discovery. Big innovations don’t come at once, but rather are built up slowly when several small innovations are combined over time. Edison wasn’t a grand planner. He was a prolific tinkerer, combining parts in ways he didn’t quite understand, confident that little discoveries along the way would be combined and leveraged into more meaningful inventions.”