Thomas Edison is considered as one of the greatest inventors of all time. Although he had much knowledge of electricity and how things worked, he was not actually a scientist and lacked greater knowledge that might have helped him achieve his goals faster. He was not well educated and was taught mostly by his mother, but he did seek knowledge and read as much as he could.
"Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing." -Thomas Edison