
US Patent 5255452 (or: Why Michael Jackson was a Hacker) - johnnybgoode
http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?CC=US&NR=5255452&KC=&FT=E
======
johnnybgoode
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...](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/32/Smooth_criminal_video.jpg)
and
[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Smooth_cr...](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Smooth_criminal_patent.png)
to quickly see why this is cool.

~~~
Quarrelsome
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.

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

~~~
Quarrelsome
I would doubt this. Popping isn't my speciality (i'm more a breaking geek).
There were probably people more dedicated to specifically that dance style
that would have outshone him at the time.

Dance that is exposed in the mainstream is a very thin slice of what is
actually out there. Nor is it usually the "best".

I will confess that his moonwalk is pretty damn good though.

~~~
copenja
I have watched a ridiculous amount of popping in my life. I've been to several
of the premier popping events and I have also been to many underground jams. I
also have watched a ton of video.

And while I will say that there are a large number of people that dance
"better" and certainly more technical than MJ...

I have never seen anyone TOUCH his moonwalk. As far as I am concerned he was
the greatest there ever was at that move by far.

------
derwiki
Woah, Northrop Grumman cited this patent:
[http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?DB=EPODOC&...](http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?DB=EPODOC&adjacent=true&locale=en_V3&FT=D&date=19960312&CC=US&NR=5498161A&KC=A)

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

------
InkweaverReview
Great share!

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

~~~
johnnybgoode
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.

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

~~~
johnnybgoode
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>

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

Requiescat in pace, whatever his personal problems.

~~~
tjogin
His album "Thriller" is the most sold album in the world, to this day. I don't
think "mime" is a an apt description.

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

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

------
drawkbox
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.

------
jemmons
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.

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

~~~
roc
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.

------
rglovejoy
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...](http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-
Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5255452.PN.&OS=PN/5255452&RS=PN/5255452)

~~~
johnnybgoode
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
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...](http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=MAUgAAAAEBAJ&dq=US+5255452)

------
jsz0
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.

~~~
johnnybgoode
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?

------
mnemonicsloth
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.

~~~
zimbabwe
_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
_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.

~~~
zimbabwe
I don't know enough about Michael Jackson to be able to respond well to this,
but he made his career out of it, invented his own moved, and genuinely seemed
to love what he did. That's not enough to say it was of his own accord, but
I'd like to think it was.

