US Patent 5255452 (or: Why Michael Jackson was a Hacker)

http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?CC=US&NR=5255452&KC=&FT=E

by johnnybgoode • 17 years ago

239 58 17 years ago

v3.espacenet.com

There was some discussion about the relevance of Michael Jackson's death to Hacker News. lyime mentioned the moonwalk as a "dance hack", and this reminded me of the patented anti-gravity lean -- a genuine hack. Look at http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/32/Smooth_crimina... and http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Smooth_cr... to quickly see why this is cool.

Quarrelsome4• 17 years ago

The moonwalk was at best an exploit as it was a well known move in the popping scene at that point. MJ just took it into the mainstream.

The shoes though appear to be a fresh concept.

Toxygene• 17 years ago

These shoes have nothing to do with the moonwalk.

AlisdairO• 17 years ago

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I believe he was also known for perfecting the move, wasn't he?

copenja2• 17 years ago

The moonwalk actually existed years before MJ used it.

Here is a clip of a guy doing it in 1955: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VbPd2iu4bg

Later, street dancers in California incorporated the move into their style known as "popping." It was these same street dancers that taught MJ the move. And I mean these people were literally hired as teachers, not that he just saw people doing it.

But none of that takes away from what Michael accomplished as a dancer and as a singer. Clearly the man was a special talent.

access_denied• 17 years ago

He used the hack, that makes him a 'dance-hacer if such concept exists. No need to be the inventor of the hack itself.

InkweaverReview2• 17 years ago

Great share!

I didn't realize that Michael Jackson had actually patented his shoe design. I guess he really was a hacker.

johnnybgoode9• 17 years ago

Hey, thanks. Yeah, if there's a connection between artistry and hacking, I think this has to qualify as an example. The visual effect is truly impressive.

derwiki• 17 years ago

Woah, Northrop Grumman cited this patent: http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?DB=EPODOC&...

duskwuff• 17 years ago

Weird. It's listed as a reference, but never mentioned in the text. Easter egg?

mnemonicsloth5• 17 years ago

Erm. Wow. That's really cool and all.

I mean, the guy was obviously amazingly talented and everything. And this is a really cool tidbit of information that lets me look back on his career as a performer in a new light.

But really, folks, is it a good idea to claim Jacko as an ideal to which people in this community might aspire?

I don't want to speak ill of the dead here. The guy lived a hard life, and had been an object of scorn and derision for a long time. I hope he had found some kind of peace of mind before he died.

But I gotta ask -- don't hackers already get enough grief for being thin, pale, eccentric, socially awkward, obsessed with artificiality, and bizarre in how they relate to women?

Let the downmodding begin.

johnnybgoode9• 17 years ago

Who here is asking for hackers to copy all of Jackson's traits?

> Let the downmodding begin.

I expect your wish will be granted...

mnemonicsloth5• 17 years ago

Okay then.

Which of Michael Jackson's traits do you think are worthy of emulation? Did he have any traits that people should be discouraged from emulating?

evilneanderthal• 17 years ago

But I gotta ask -- don't <creative people, innovators, scientists, artists, pioneers> already get enough grief for being <different>?

Yes. Yes they do. But thanks for adding to it anyway!

mnemonicsloth5• 17 years ago

You know who gets even more grief for being different than the creative people, innovators, scientists, artists, and pioneers?

The mentally ill. Is that wrong?

dinkumthinkum2• 17 years ago

But the irony here is that you're whining about how "hackers get grief" for being totally dense socially but your comments seems to be totally socially dense. It's really interesting to see how someone can be ironic about being ironic.

mnemonicsloth5• 17 years ago

You're right. There's a good chance I'm totally socially inept, especially in this medium with no vocal cues or facial expressions to carry the emotional shading that I'd like to attach to what I write.

But is it really so surprising that my thoughts are internally inconsistent? So long as we're playing self-reference games, is it socially savvy to expect an absence of hypocrisy?

zimbabwe3• 17 years ago

But really, folks, is it a good idea to claim Jacko as an ideal to which people in this community might aspire?

The man took something that was considered to be geeky and odd - dancing - practiced it feverishly and from a young age, and almost singlehandedly made his own brand of dance mainstream, sexy, and cool. To the end he worked hard at trying to keep himself at the peak of his abilities.

If he's a hacker, he was the ultimate hacker - despite being a bizarro geek in nearly every way up to and including the gradual draining of his skin pigmentation, he did what he loved, became famous for it, was the best at his line of work, and was a sex icon for two decades. If that's not hacking I don't know what is.

menloparkbum• 17 years ago

he did what he loved

But was he really doing what he loved, or was he partially an automaton doing what his parents engineered him to do, eventually becoming the only things he knew how to do? It seems like he almost had no choice in the matter, and all his eccentricities were his way of coping with destiny.

InkweaverReview2• 17 years ago

You have to admit that Michael Jackson was just plain weird. But then many of the greatest innovators were also considered weird in their time.

I don't think that anyone would want to emulate every aspect of his strange lifestyle, but he definitely came up with a few ideas that were worthy of a hacker. He found new ways to entertain people, and whatever strange personal identity crises he may have had he still hacked together an identity that most people are at least slightly familiar with.

To my way of thinking, that is relatively successful, even if he did end up dying young.

I think if there is anything worth emulating it would be persistence.

cpr2• 17 years ago

<Old fogey alert> I'm afraid I've never seen Jackson dance--are there some videos that demonstrate these tricks? </...alert>

johnnybgoode9• 17 years ago

Perhaps a young fogey alert would be more appropriate. ;)

Here is the moonwalk, probably his most famous move (he wasn't the first to perform it, though): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnIDfDFqGWc

Here is the anti-gravity lean relevant to this patent: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HJbGSHtFYQ

Here is a montage of many of his dance moves: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKBLxh3u0tM

cpr2• 17 years ago

Wow. So what he really was was a talented mime with some great dance moves.

Requiescat in pace, whatever his personal problems.

joebasirico• 17 years ago

wow, even now that I know it was the shoes that's still incredibly impressive. That would take a lot of strength to get down that low.

tybris• 17 years ago

That's quite remarkable. I didn't think there was anyone in the developed world over the age of 20 who hasn't seen the rise, moonwalk and fall of Micheal Jackson. His name is practically bigger than Coca-Cola.

Periodic• 17 years ago

Somewhere at the height of his career, I believe he performed at some benefit concert that was broadcast on PBS. Being the only station I was allowed to watch at the time, and living in a rural community of about 2000 with very little pop culture, it was essentially the only exposure I had to him during his height of popularity.

At the time I remember thinking, "Who is this guy? I guess his song is kinda catchy." I don't remember which one it was.

I am sure I was in the minority.

Quarrelsome4• 17 years ago

He also inspired a number of dancers. Here's a clip of DoKnock (of Battle Monkeys, he's a famous breaker, I guess most people would know him cause he won American Idol I think) who grew up dancing along to MJ stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYaIXi1cNc0

shiranaihito4• 17 years ago

It looks like he's an impressive acrobatic, but that video doesn't really show him dancing.

rglovejoy• 17 years ago

Not sure why the OP linked to the European Patent Office. Here is the link to the USPTO's site: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sec...

johnnybgoode9• 17 years ago

It's part of my secret plan to drain Europe's resources and maintain US dominance. Seriously, I thought of changing it to the US link, but apparently HN doesn't let you edit the URL in your submission. Fortunately, it's the same information anyway.

madh• 17 years ago

Besides the USPTO link isn't any better. Here is the patent on Google Patents: http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=MAUgAAAAEBAJ&dq=U...

jsz0• 17 years ago

I heard some celebrity couple got a divorce today. Can someone maybe link one of them to having used a computer at some point in their life? I'd love to see a story on it.

johnnybgoode9• 17 years ago

I saw your comment in the other MJ thread, so I get it -- you're pissed off about him being discussed here. But do you really not see why this is more impressive than simply using a computer?

Mintz• 17 years ago

The wording in the patent is somewhat stiff and ambiguous. Could someone explain in a different way exactly how these shoes work?

roc• 17 years ago

Basic principle: imagine a screw and a T-square.

The inner-elbow of the T-square represents a receptacle on the modified shoe. The screw represents the retractable post that protrudes from the stage.

Slide the screw into the very corner of the T-square's elbow, so that the head is above the square. viola! The square (and thereby the shoe and thereby the performer) are now fastened to the stage.

As an added bonus, in the linked anti-gravity lean video above, you can actually see MJ slide his feet backward at the end of the stunt to disengage his shoe from the stage.

jemmons• 17 years ago

I had always wondered how MJ'd done "The Lean". I can't believe I never thought to look it up after the advent of the the internet.

icey• 17 years ago

Here's another relevant "MJ was a geek" link:

http://gizmodo.com/5303026/michael-jackson-gets-his-geek-on

drawkbox• 17 years ago

MJ was also a very crafty viral marketer. He could hack the media easily. He invented most of the stories or did them for shock (Bubbles, Oxygen tube bed, Elephant man bones), after a while the media started making up their own.

US Patent 5255452 (or: Why Michael Jackson was a Hacker)

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