Nikola Tesla — "I myself eschew all stimulants. I also practically abstain from meat."
I myself eschew all stimulants. I also practically abstain from meat.
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About Nikola Tesla (1856-1943)
Serbian-American inventor and electrical engineer whose alternating-current designs powered the modern electrical grid; died poor and largely forgotten. Closely associated with George Westinghouse (his AC-power business partner) and Mihajlo Pupin (fellow Serbian-American physicist at Columbia). For an intellectual contrast, see Thomas Edison, American inventor and direct-current advocate — Edison's direct-current power-distribution scheme was displaced by Tesla-Westinghouse AC in the 1890s 'War of Currents'. Edison ran a public-relations campaign electrocuting animals to discredit AC — the most famous engineering-ethics rivalry in American history. Tesla's AC won and powers nearly every electrical grid on Earth.
Details
Personal philosophical statement on self-discipline and lifestyle choices.
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Understanding this quote
What it means
The speaker deliberately avoids coffee, alcohol, tobacco, and other stimulants that artificially alter mental or physical states, and largely refrains from eating meat. This reflects a disciplined, intentional approach to health and diet — choosing clarity and restraint over indulgence, believing that what one consumes directly shapes cognitive performance and physical vitality.
Relevance to Nikola Tesla
Tesla was famous for extreme personal discipline and unconventional habits. He worked obsessively long hours and believed mental sharpness was paramount. He practiced near-vegetarianism later in life, eventually subsisting largely on milk and honey. His aversion to stimulants aligned with his view that the inventor's mind must remain unclouded and precisely controlled, treating his body as an instrument of intellectual output.
The era
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw rising temperance movements, early nutritional science debates, and growing public interest in health reform. Figures like John Harvey Kellogg promoted vegetarianism and abstinence. Tesla's era was also marked by intense industrial competition and public fascination with genius, making his ascetic lifestyle newsworthy and a deliberate part of his public intellectual identity.
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