Thomas Edison, dubbed the “Wizard of Menlo Park,” was one of the greatest inventors the world has known. His nearly 1,100 patents exceed that of any other inventor in American history, and his inventions were foundational across a bewildering array of domains, from electronics to medicine to chemical research.

I decry the current tendency to seek patents on algorithms. There are better ways to earn a living than to prevent other people from making use of one's contributions to computer science.