Reimagining Tomorrow
Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway, on balancing innovation and conservation, the future of cars, and what Galileo and Walt Disney have in common.
The Segway generated a lot of excitement when it was unveiled in 2001. You described it as a solution to urban congestion. Why hasn't it caught on in America?
Ten years after the first horseless carriage, I doubt too many people ever would have believed there would be highways. I don't know what will be the right solution. What I do know for sure is, 20, 30, 40 years from today, there is virtually no chance you are going to see the major cities of the world congested by cars.
People really do love their cars, though.
And I love mine! They just don't belong in the middle of a city.
What do you drive to work?
A little
What environmental problem would you most like to design a solution for?
The two I'm working on are water [purification], because it's the number one cause of disease. Number two is, people deserve a little bit of electricity. I mean, maybe not enough to run hair dryers and Jacuzzis, but they need basic access, and we need to supply it in a way that isn't environmentally disastrous.
I want to ask you about North Dumpling Island, the private island you own off the coast of Connecticut. It's partially powered by a wind turbine, which you weren't allowed to build without a fight.
I just wanted to make simple, clean, efficient power for this island. Somehow we all live surrounded by 50,000-volt ugly-looking lines that run through the trees where our kids climb, and we not only don't see them as ugly, we sort of don't see them at all! It's all perception.
Do you think technology today causes or solves more environmental problems?
That's easy - both! [But] better technologies don't have to be a compromise. They just require imagination and education and courage and vision.
What's the strangest thing that ever inspired you?
I've been inspired mostly by technology. You know, Archimedes 275 BC, Leonardo 1,400 years later, Galileo a couple hundred years after him. But in the 20th century, I'd throw Walt Disney in there. The guy had a vision to create a way by which kids could dream happy dreams.
You're known for wearing jeans and work boots pretty much every day.
It's not true! I only wear work shirts and work boots when I'm working. It's just, if I'm awake, I'm working.
You're 56, a multimillionaire, and single. Do you consider yourself an eligible bachelor?
Ha! You'd have to ask women that question. I'd be very interested in what the world thinks about that.
