Harrison vs Marconi: should we master time or conquer distance?
JOHN HARRISON vs MARCONI go head to head — and every jab is rooted in real history.
I spent forty years grinding a chronometer that told a captain exactly where he stood on God's ocean; mastery of time is what saved those sailors.
And I let that same captain shout for rescue when the ship was sinking, John - your clock cannot answer a distress call across a thousand miles.
A signal is worthless if you don't know your position to send it; longitude came first, and it came from a workbench, not a spark.
Position without a voice is a lonely man knowing precisely where he will drown - I gave the sea an ear, and the Titanic proved which of us the world screamed for.
Watch it happen 🔥
See this debate come alive — the faces, the voices, the roast — on the channel.
▶ Watch the Great DebatesGet a new debate in your inbox 💭
The best of Talk to Caleb — history's greatest minds, brought back to argue. No spam, ever.