Aug
Principle to Practice
The principle of electricity is pretty simple. It rests on the circuit, which is a continuous loop from a power source and back to it. The application of electricity for incandescent light is also very simple. The electricity heats a filament, or wire, which then glows.
When inventor Thomas Edison first experimented with an electric light, he used a horse hair as a filament. The hair glowed and burned out. It was not the best filament, but it proved that the principle worked. Edison knew that he needed a more substantial material for his filament. He had the principle, and now he needed to apply it in a practical manner.
Thomas Edison tried various materials for his filament. He knew the principle worked. Now he needed a material to make best use of that principle. Edison said he tried over 2,000 different things for his filament before finding the best one. He found a wire that would glow without burning out in seconds or weeks or even months.
As it is said, the rest is history.
Edison’s experience illustrates an important fact. Many times we know the principle of a thing. The trick is making that principle work for us. On some level, we know it can work. Our task is to discover how we can make it work for us. In a sense, there is a gap between the principle and its manifestation. We need to come up with the way to bridge that gap between principle and objective reality.
It begins with an idea. The idea is just a thought. We have to come up with a way to make that idea work. In other words, we must implement it.
Edison took the idea, realized it was a working principle, and then did what was necessary to make it work for him. The same process will work for us. .It is up to us to make the connection from principle to reality.
