What is the saddest truth about smart people?

8/3/2018

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History Story: What is the saddest truth about smart people?

Know this woman?

This is Austrian-American actress, Hedy Lamarr, recognised as one of the most beautiful, sensual women in Hollywood during the ’30s & ’40s, during Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's “golden age” of cinema.

What many won't know, is that she basically invented the technology we use today for GPS, Bluetooth & Wi-Fi. It's a pity that history remembers her for her looks, rather than her intellect.

But why is that so?

Back in the ’40s, Lamarr recognised the flaw in radio-controlled torpedoes and how they could be easily jammed. Together with her friend George Antheil, she developed a “secret communication system” for war-time use.

She created a “frequency hopping” signal as a way to guide radio-controlled missiles without any detection, which would effectively counter any attempts by the Nazis to jam or track their signals.

On June 10, 1941, the duo submitted their patent. US Patent No. 2,292,387 was subsequently granted on August 11, 1942 for their early work on spread spectrum technology. But since the military wasn’t too keen on receiving help from civilians, and because this technology was way ahead of its time, they chose to overlook her work entirely.

Lamarr's technology was eventually implemented in naval ships in the ’60s, but up until her passing in 2000, she didn't earn a single cent from her pioneering concept. This was because her patent had expired in 1959, and yet the idea was still utilised in the development of a new secure military communications system found on ships sent to the Cuban blockade in 1962.

That may have been an oversight on her part, but to think that the world failed to acknowledge her for her contributions for so long is deeply saddening. It wasn't until 1997 when she was presented with two awards by the Electronic Frontier Foundation did she finally gain recognition, though she had already turned 82 by then.

Even then, hardly any of us remember her for her scientific contributions, even today.

So what's the saddest truth about smart people?

Smart people often fall through the cracks. They are frequently overlooked, forgotten, and hardly ever get the credit that they truly deserve.

What a pity that history forgets its heroes.

This information was taken from Quora. Click here to view the original post.

Do you think Hedy Lamarr was an unappreciated genius? She was very beautiful and smart, indeed.

#History #Society #celebs #psychology #Quora

What are your thoughts on this subject?

99 Comments

sandrafinch

I think a lot of men are still afraid of smart women because they feel their masculinity threatened.

joneal

Like many people that I have met and have a personal relationship/friendship with that are almost "genius level" IQ's, that are too modest/humble. Sadly, these same people are the type our country needs instead of those narcissistic/ego driven wanting all the fame.

Clarence Quismundo

A responsible government would have done the right thing by giving her the much deserved royalties (you cannot eat plaques and medals). And ironically we are talking about the US government here.

jack patti go

Shecwas so beautiful, but a really smart woman! Men wete scared of smart women, then!

tbear

I knew this story! Such a shame it took so long for her to get credit!😢

Katzman

She wrote the schematic on the back of a napkin!

helenmbitting

I read about this before somewhere else, & yes she was noted for her beauty, but that brain of here was more beautiful...sad how she wasn't taken seriously, & never collected a penny for her brilliance... That's the gov't for you...

Steve Tingle

Happened in the UK also, Alan Turing a leader in the code breaking Bletchly Park during the war, who with others developed and built the first electronic computer and founded computer programming all of which was kept top secret until many years later, Turing, however, was hounded to suicide in the early 50s due to his homosexuality, some say the British secret service may have had a hand in it, he died alone and unrecognised. It is only in recent years that his genius has been recognised.

Margaret White

It happens every day to smart people because ordinary people cannot understand and appreciate intelligent thinking. Intelligent people are treated with derision from early childhood and learn not to call attention to themselves.

Janet Poor

Very sad indeed...such a lovely, talented & gifted woman...very sad & unjust...😠

Clarence Quismundo

cwisconsin, I guess she would have been a billionaire if they had given her enough credit for her invention which practically the entire planet uses now.

Joy Holbrook

I’m one of those genius level IQ people who never did anything expected of me. My father expected me to excel in life, but I don’t have even a smidgin of killer instinct. Except when I’m playing Trivial Pursuit. The saddest truth about being clever for me, has been going through life (I’m 77) not being able to share things that interest me at the level at which they interest me. In order to fit in with work colleagues and others, I’ve had to dumb myself down and keep quiet when I know what’s being said is not correct. The culture in Australia is not conducive to clever people. If I were a genius tennis player or football star, nobody would criticise me for having an ability above the norm. But having a brain above the norm is actively discouraged. When still at school doing exams, I had a choice: I could top the class and be teased by my classmates, or I could deliberately do badly and have to listen to my Dad endlessly asking why I didn’t do better and telling me how disappointed he and Mum were. I chose to top the class. I sometimes wonder if Dad looked on me as an aid to his self esteem, because he was a teacher at my school. So that for me has been the saddest truth. However, I’ve finally realised that I have a right to do me, so now I do me with gay abandon! I’ve found that people still like me. I have a large circle of friends and I’m finally realising how good it is to be me.

Richard Adams

The military is real slow to use anything they don’t develop .

David Heinz

She was a great actress and a very very beautiful woman but as far as I am concerned her greatest accomplishment was her and her colleagues invention. So many times really intelligently people are not recognized.

Tom Cooke

So sad that they didn’t (or couldn’t) realize the importance of her discovery. Our torpedoes were having a hard time!

Diane Herbert Wall

jack patti go, they still are , unless the man is really smart !

jch

Women and Blacks seldom got credit for their inventions, especially in the USA. You figure out why!!

Satish Chandran

Her children should be compensated.

lmoores

Smart women scare some men.

Bernice Sartori

jack patti go, many still are! 🙄

Dianne Williams

How interesting such a pity men did not really look at her incredible invention it would have put war science so far ahead instead of all the wasted years before probably a man decided it works. Beautiful woman