"IT"
Are We on the Verge of Witnessing an Invention Bigger Than the World Wide Web?
If enough people see the machine, you won’t have to convince them to architect cities around it. It’ll just happen.
- Steve Jobbs
It appears like we have a new "dorm rat" on our hands, and his name is Dean Kamen. He is a 49-year old scientist who has just been awarded the national Medal of Technology, the country’s highest reward for cutting-edge technological brilliance.
He dropped out of college in his mid 20’s. But soon after that, he went on to invent the first drug infusion pump and the first portable insulin pump for dialysis machine.
Dr. Kamen is an eccentric character, who is sorely out of touch with popular culture. He once sat at a White House Dinner next to (what he considered) total strangers: Shirley Maclaine and Warren Beatty)
But his mind is what people appreciate. Those who know him say he’s a combination of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. His two most recent inventions prove he lives up to that lofty billing. He invented an electronic wheel chair that can walk up stairs, and a portable heart monitor the size of a briefcase.
But his latest innovation is what’s drawing serious attention. For the three insiders who have actually seen "IT," they’re really buzzing. For everyone else on the outside, the invention is shrouded in total mystery.
Kamen doesn’t want anyone to know what he’s invented…..at least not right now!
People’s interest levels are boiling over about his new invention. So much, in fact, that a Harvard Business School Press executive paid $250,000 for the rights to write a book about the invention……without even knowing what it is!
The reason for the extreme secrecy is that Kamen doesn’t want big corporations blocking his invention, or assigning an entire team of engineers to catch up with him.
But he did revealed his new invention to a select group of technology visionaries. And when I say a "select group," I mean three people:
Jeff Bezos
Steve Jobbs
John Doerr
I’m sure you’ve heard of Bezos and Jobbs, but maybe not John Doerr….so I’ll quickly fill you in. He is a partner in a venture capital firm which helped launch Netscape, Amazon.com, Juniper Networks, Excite, and @Home. So just because his name is not as recognizable as the others, he’s just as huge.
Other than these three, (and Kamen’s small team of engineers) nobody else in the world has seen his invention. But that’s all Kamen needs.
All three agree Kamen’s machine will revolutionize the way we exist!
The name for this new innovation is simply "IT." But "IT" is captivating the curiosity of the entire world.
Just read what Bezos, Doerr, and even Kamen have said about the new invention:
I had been sure that (I) wouldn’t see the development of anything in (my) lifetime as important as the World Wide Web — until I saw IT
John Doerr
IT is a product so revolutionary, you’ll have no problem selling it
Jeff Bezos
The core technology and its implications will have a big, broad impact not only on social institutions, but some billion-dollar old-line companies.
The invention will profoundly effect our environment and the way people live worldwide. It will be an alternative to products that are dirty, expensive, sometimes dangerous, and often frustrating, especially in the cities.
- Dean Kamen
Kamen works at his New-Hampshire based research and development company called DEKA. But DEKA is not a publicly-traded stock. And for good reason.
Public stocks mean the company has to share profits with investors. And a genius like Kamen does not want to share his profits with anyone, simply because he knows he’s got something massive on his hands.
And when I say massive, I’m talking Microsoft massive. Kamen’s sole underwriter at Suisse First Boston, expects "IT" to make more money in its first year than any start-up in history.
They even venture to say that in five years, Kamen will be worth more that Bill Gates.
Steve Jobbs agrees. He said that "IT" will be as significant as the PC.
So, What Could "IT" Possibly Be? Lets Break it Down
It’s time to do some investigative work. And we’ll start with some solid facts:
Dean Kamen is an aviation freak. He takes his helicopter everywhere he goes. And he has worked for years with his non-for-profit organization "FIRST" developing a "Stirling Engine," which is an engine designed to achieve the highest possible energy efficiency of any existing heat-power engine.
"IT" is not a medical invention — he made that clear.
In his private meeting with Bezos, Jobbs, and Doerr, Kamen assembled two of his machines in 11 minutes using only a screwdriver and a hex wrench. And all the parts fit into three or four duffel bags and some cardboard boxes.
The invention will cost consumers around $2,000
In the meeting, Jeff Bezos was heard laughing when Kamen turned the machine on.
"IT" will be a mass-marketed product that will profoundly effect the environment and the way people live worldwide.
All three people who have seen the machine make reference to transportation, and also make reference to cities, city planners, regulators, legislators, large commercial companies, and campuses.
Kamen has tried to meet with the heads of the "Big Three" auto makers: Ford, GM, and Chrysler. If the meetings have occurred has not yet been verified.
Does this Equation Hold the Answer?
ηth=(T¹- T²)/T¹
Does this equation mean anything to you? I’m guessing it does not. It is the formula for Stirling Engines, and it could hold the secret to what "IT" is.
If I were to make an educated guess, "IT" is a small, compact engine that runs on an alternative energy form. It doesn’t pollute the air, it’s easy to navigate in a city, and everyone will want one.
But I’m purely speculating. "IT" could also be"
A nitrogen-powered car.
A gravity leverage loop, or an offset of perpetual motion.
Or just an alternative energy source, replacing gasoline.
If one thing is for sure, it has something to do with how we get from place to place. I am fairly confident of that because of Dean Kamen’s past.
Here’s Where I Found Some Good Leads…..
I went to the U.S. Patent office’s website and pulled up all the patents filed by Kamen. His most recent patent was the wheelchair that can walk up stairs and over gravel.
But deeper into the 57-page document was this drawing:
On the surface, it doesn’t look like anything that will revolutionize the world, or be even a fraction as big as the internet. But once again, this is only Kamen’s patent filing. Maybe this drawing is a brainstorm, or an offshoot of some sort of one-person floatation device he was planning out years ago.
Honestly, I don’t know. This entire thing could also be a big hoax.
But nevertheless, it’s something that I will pay close attention to. "IT" is slated to hit the market in 2002. But until then, if I see any publicly traded company pouring money into DEKA, I will jump on the stock.
Stay tuned for more, but for right now, that’s the crux of IT!
Bryan Bottarelli is the assistant editor of The Cutting Edge. For insights into how you can profit from today’s leading companies, like the biotech company set to overcome biotechnology giant Amgen, click here:
© 2000 Agora Financial Publishing, 1217 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21202.
Contact our webmaster
