Tesla is one of the greatest engineers to have walked this earth. The modern world is shaped from many of Tesla's inventions. Do you like smoothies, cars, television, lights in your home, remote controlled toys, and affordable electricity? None of those things were possible before Tesla. Tesla invented AC power which some people dont grasp the importance of, AC power unlike DC allows for the transmission of electricity over great distances by increasing the voltage and alternating between positive and negative over one wire (it doesnt have to return to negative as you see on a battery). This gave us the ability to create massive power plants and transmit power to areas far around, before Tesla we were stuck with DC which required power plants every few miles. Along with his greatest invention of AC power, he invented the electric induction motor. Another enourmous breakthrough. He was not the first to theorize this type of motor but before his invention of AC power it was not possible. That motor is responsible for driving so many of the luxuries we enjoy today like blenders, fans, power tools, etc. Over a hundred years ago Tesla invisioned modern day television, radio, and some say but loosely the internet (not like google or the WWW, just the sharing of data electronically). Marconi who was originally credited with inventing the radio did so with so many of Tesla's patents that eventually Tesla was recognized as the true inventor of radio. Another thing Tesla did was invent remote controlled devices using similiar technology which allowed for the birth of radio. He was using remote controlled boats in the 1800's far before kids would be picking one up from a store. There are too many of Tesla's inventions to cover them all here but you get the point that he wanst just a genius inventor, he was a revolution of thought and invention. He did start to go insane as he got older, as most geniuses do, which led to his faciniation of wireless electricity and other things which were cool and impractical. He eventually became obsessed with the number three and had to do everything in multiples of three. Tesla is seen as a mad scientist because some of his inventions like the wireless electricity were hard for people to understand and when you saw it, it was hard to not think he was crazy. In truth he was a great man who shaped much of what he have today using knowledge from other brilliant people before him. In my opinion I like Tesla not only for his inventions, but for his perseverance. When Edison refused to pay Tesla what he owed him, Tesla left and went out on his own. When Edison wouldnt allow Tesla to use the light bulb which he had patented to light the Chicago Wolrds Fair, Tesla invented a new light bulb in an amazingly short time and never needed Edisons. This is why Tesla is such a big deal, as a Mechanical Engineer myself, he is an insirpation to us as far as perseverance and inventivness.