On September 8 Edison saw the light. This was only the first in a chain of stimulations, however. Inside Edison’s head the pulse of light was converted into a neurological flash, and this internal illumination, in the marvelous mental reconfiguring we call inspiration, became a vision of what would later become the electrical grid.
He would invent not merely a better lamp, he would invent a system. The lamps would be mass produced and would come in many forms. The system of energy and lamp and fixture would be served by a centralized power source and a branching distribution grid. The same wires would bring energy to other machines.
Schewe, Phillip F. (Contribution by). Grid : A Journey Through the Heart of Our Electrified World. Washington, DC, USA: Joseph Henry Press, 2007. p 35.
Post hoc ergo propter hoc. There's no evidence that Edison invented the whole system in one flash of inspiration. Further, years of his documented experiments show a concept in development, not a mere implementation of a pre-determined concept.
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