How My Training As An Inventioneer Altered Ethernet
Everyone said it was impossible. Engineers laughed and called it ‘The Billings Folly’ — as a joke. Then the entire internet adopted it, and now the whole world uses it.
Dr. Roger Billings tells the inside story of how full duplex gigabit Ethernet was invented, rejected at IEEE standards meetings, and eventually became the global standard behind modern internet, streaming video, and AI.
Discover the inventions that made it possible — the concentrator, the equalizer circuit, and the balanced hybrid circuit — and hear what happened when Ron Crane, the father of Ethernet himself, stepped in to defend it.
About DrB
Dr. Roger Billings is a visionary innovator whose work has touched the lives of millions of students and transformed the landscape of education. Widely known as “DrB” to the countless kids who benefit from his groundbreaking Acellus learning system, Dr. Billings has dedicated his life to advancing education through technology.
As part of DrB’s lifelong commitment to supporting education, Science LIVE was launched as a way to “give back” by mentoring students in conjunction with the Roger Billings Scholarship Program.
Read more about DrB »
About the Roger Billings Scholarship Program »
Cool live! Maybe sign lauguage won’t be a thing anymore if deaf people are able to hear again!
I LOVED THE VIDOE SO MUCH I CANT WAIT WAIT FOR THE NEXST VIDEO
I thought the Ethernet was really cool and how Dr.B was involved with it.
this is awesome! Will we have any lessons on this topic?
Thank you for an amazing science live.
love the video!
this science live was really interesting!😊
R 51 is right this is the biggest science project ever!
I am still shocked about how they got rid of all of the collisions, can’t wait to learn more!!!!
I like the video so much to learn
cool live keep it up!!❤️
I enjoyed learning about Ethernet. Thank you science live always so educational!
Doing science live is the best part of my day.
man that 67 was sooo funny 67676767
wow thats amazing
I LOVE TO LEARN ABOUT SI\CIENCE LIVE
Mesmerizing information.
These videos are so cool!
Loved it!
Where do you guys make these videos
This episode was great!!
I’m obsessed with science live!
Learning about the concentrator, and equalizer circuit is so interesting.
Science liveee!
I really liked this live!
I sometimes miss these videos so I have to watch extra but I do not care because I LOVE SCINCE LIVE
i love inventors.
I LOVE YOU GUYS
I love R51
outstanding as always!
Loved this episode!
I love that these 1/4 of the wire and then
love this keep it up guys.
Thanks for doing Science Live every week!
I didn’t know Rodger Billings worked on Ethernet development, that segment was interesting.
Love,love it
Science live helps me learn really awesome things.
WOWIE!!!!! This is so informative!!! Can not wait for another video! Keep it UPPPPPPPP
I learned a lot from Science Live, thanks for the knowledge.
I think that the concentrator is really cool. I wonder how long it takes to make a computer now? I really enjoyed learning more about the Ethernet today!
this vid was very good i cant wait to watch the next one
I love watching these videos
Dr.B, Your are amazing! It is an honor to watch the knowledge you share with my family.
is inventioneer a real word?
i love Science life
If you had to give 5 words to your younger self, what would they be?
I love that all the science lives teach us about so many different things!
So excited and ready for todays live!!!
I think that it’s remarkable that researchers are studying and finding ways to help deaf people hear!! This will help many people lead normal lives!!
All of this was very interesting, thank you so much for this weeks video!
I think it is so cool that Lady Pajet invented her own boots!
We all get stage fright, but that’s okay 😀
I love how we get to learn about new inventions and ideas!
that’s so cool
That was a great Science Live!!
Another great one!
It was very intriguing to see the development of the ether and the complexity of it all.
Wow! Great video!
Can’t wait for next weeks science live
I loved the video so much to learn and it was great can’t wait too see what comes next video
same
I want to be an inventor
I love science live.
This video was so informing cant wait for next weeks!
What is the funniest thing r51 did
Science live makes me feel like anything is possible!
Give a cheer for acellus
it was interesting to learn about the collision problems, and how it was solved.
I Love science live
Science live is awesome! This episode was so entertaining.
These episodes about the ethernet are great!
It’s wonderful how researchers have discovered a way to have deaf people be able to hear!
That was awesome
“It’s possible once you figure out how.”
I deeply agree. That’s the same reason why we marvel at some seemingly simple, but clever solutions made by others. “Why didn’t I think of X?” or “Y didn’t even have to do much to get Z!” It almost always feels like ‘some thing’ can never be done, until, suddenly, they happen rather quickly, often from a person that asked questions they were dedicated to solve.
Consider the nature of possibility. If at any point, Roger Billings decided that there was no point pushing back against the less-than-perfect version the rest of the people on the commitee were pushing for, it’s likely that there’d be a massive difference in the world we’re in today. Someone had determination, had grit, and (KEY WORD) CONSISTENTLY kept pushing for what they thought was better, and for a good reason, and THAT, is what makes waves in the world. Huzzah.
Man. Well spoken.
He is always amazing me!
It’s fun to learn about such complicated technologies!
How you worded that, Ken-lamar, was amazingly well done!!!!! Good job!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 Especially this Part “Consider the nature of possibility. If at any point, Roger Billings decided that there was no point pushing back against the less-than-perfect version the rest of the people on the commitee were pushing for, it’s likely that there’d be a massive difference in the world we’re in today. Someone had determination, had grit, and (KEY WORD) CONSISTENTLY kept pushing for what they thought was better, and for a good reason, and THAT, is what makes waves in the world. Huzzah.” I Think it was an excellent comment, and well thought out!!!!!
-Mira H. 😀 😀
Good argument, Ken. If you don’t even try to think about how to fix the problem, then you can never solve it. If you don’t even try to fix the problem, then what’s the point in thinking about it when you don’t even care? This is why passion, grit, and critical thinking are very important in solving problems.
The internet is so confusing sometimes, it makes me grateful there’s people like you who understand it enough to fix and improve it!
I really love this weeks Science live, and I really love the protégés.
what are some ways to train your mind when your becoming an inventor?
Great question Isabelle! Check out these episodes: Science Live – Inventioneering
Cool I have not watch them yet but I will
I wonder who the first person who made light.
I liked this science live can’t wait for the next one
Getting rid of collisions using the FIFO chip is acutally a really good idea.
Glad to have r 51 back
This weeks Science Live was so interesting!
This weeks live was so interesting, waiting for more!
Science Live teaches everything!
I love how David said did you hear that and Caleb said no then he said now I hear it. thank you for making acellus
Thank you for teaching us about the Ethernet! Very interesting.
I think it’s so cool his long it must’ve taken you to learn this stuff.
Loved this week’s video and learning about the Ethernet!!! Very informative!
How did your training as an inventioneer help you see a solution to the ethernet the other engineers missed?
how long ago was the telephone invented
I loved learning about the ethernet!!
I had no idea so much had to happen to create the Ethernet. R-51 is so hilarious, and you can just tell that he tries so hard to do his best. Thank you for another wonderful video! I can’t wait for next week!
I learned a lot from Science Live. Dr. B is so smart!
Words cannot describe how awesome it is to be taught in a school, founded by the one and only Roger Billings!
R-51 is the best!
I play a lot of video games and I’m very interested in high performance computer things this is very cool.
This weeks video was great and funny I can’t wait for next week’s.
If gene therapy can be used to restore hearing could we use it to restore vision or voice?
i love how much of an example Dr. billing is!
Dr. Billings thank you for all the info! -Frankie from Montana
Frankie I’m from Montana too, we could be best buds
I love the science live it’s so good and helpful.
Science Live is so cool! Thanks for the knowledge.
Science live is so educational!
Im on vacation but wanted to make sure I still watched!
Dr. John’s 100GBite project was really amazing with so many pins for one chip and that unbelievable speed in nano second.
The circuit board “mess” was interesting to see. Science Live is interesting. My first one.
Learned so much from this! Looking forward to more
So Dr. Billings also made the standard for Ethernet? How much can one man do…
I love it whenever we get stories such as this one!
The Ethernet is such an interesting topic! I hope to see more.
You should definitely try making a Morse code class. I would take it.
I love watching Science Live!! It teaches me so much.
This is so much better for commenting. I watched the last 3-weeks, but it wouldn’t allow me to post a comment or question. That circuit really is a mess!
mentioning your wife was so sweet!
I loved this science live! Thank you guys so much for all you do. #1 r-51 fan!
I liked the two boy protégés, Caleb and David, and Dr. Tobias, and Area 51.
I’ve learned so much from this, looking forward to the next one.
Hi from Florida. Loved this one!!
Hi from Colorado. Love Science live!
Watching from Kansas!! Science live is so cool!!
I liked when R51 thought he invented the network.
Roger Billings is the greatest instructor
I love that you proved that you’re method worked even though they told you it wouldn’t.
Super cool video! Thank you Acellus team!
I look forward to wednesday every week.
Do you know when the Morse Code class is going to come out?
Watching Science Live on that old CRT computer monitor looked weird, but awesome!
Why is it called Ethernet? Is it the same as the internet?
Ethernet connects your device to the internet, while the internet is the invisible network linking billions of devices worldwide.
I loved learning about this thank you Roger Billings
As usual we enjoyed our Science live. Thanks to the team!
R51 is back safe and sound! I was a little worried he might be lost forever!
It is amazing the contribution to the scientific world Dr Rogers has made and yet I had to enroll in Acellus to learn about him! I am so glad I did.
i love science live can’t wait for next weeks!!
Hello, from Oregon !! 🙂
Just wow! This guy has done so much for us. I love Wednesday
Roger Billings for President!
I can’t believe how much the internet has come from 20-20 years ago.
The section about gene therapy was super interesting!
thank you so much for another week of science live im really looking forward for next week i loved this week so much.
I like watching the videos of people getting fitted with hearing aids in which they hear for sometimes the first time and this is even more incredible!
It’s really cool how they came up transferring data.
Wow! so cool! Hello from Fl! 🙂
Hello from miami loved this live!!!
It’s so amazing how gigabytes of a second are so quick how exactly can you calculate how quick they’re going? 🙂
heyy from north carolina! 🙂 great episode!
Thank you for the ASL learning class. I have always wanted to learn it.
It’s so cool how Dr. Roger Billings created the Billings computer system
One of the best science lives! R-51 is my favorite!
It was very interesting to learn about the how they solved the problems in ethernet. Great week!
I hope you find a way to store hydrogen in vehicles!!
Thank you for telling us more about Ethernet I am very excited to share this with my friends and family!
Hi from Nebraska!
Science live is so fun. I’m so grateful.
think that it was very interesting to learn about the collision problem .Roger Billings has given us so much over the years yet we are only just really finding out who made them all, thank you for all of your contributions.have you thought about a Morse code class
We always learn something new!!!
So people are able to hear again after being def for years?
Loved learning about R 51. Great video looking forward to next weeks.
Hey I really enjoy these lives they are always such a cool way to learn!
It is amazing that researchers in Sweden are able to have deaf people hear. Hopefully this becomes widespread and we can do the same thing for blind people.
I had no idea that the host was such an important figure in the world of computer science.
I wonder how many different people it took to invent ethernet.
Hi from south dakota! This science live was so fun! I really enjoy learning about the ethernet!
I always find r51 so joyous!
Back in the 90s being a network manager must have been crazy because the wifi was slow. I liked this week’s episode.
What first inspired Roger Billings to work with hydrogen? -Kaylie
Hello from Ohio!
Great show this week!
I enjoyed Ethernet I thought it was cool!
I love how much of an example Dr. Billings is!
I had fun learning with you today
Hello from South Carolina!
Roger billings you are so amazing to make us learn new things and stuff to do ! thank you!
Hmm…”A keystone locks everything into place.”
Science live has made so many people smarter and wiser.
My uncle was born without hearing. He has a choclear implant.
Thanks to the inventioneer, Dr. B, we can learn through streaming on Acellus!
What is the biggest science fair in the world
Wow! David and Caleb really helped me understand how much Roger Billings did! Acellus Team, you guys are amazing people with outstanding inventions!! Roger Billings thank you for all your hard work, I’m still amazed how you did that! 🙂
Wow! Dr Roger’s is awesome. I didn’t know he was such a huge part of inventing the Ethernet we use today. And people joked about him but he proved them wrong.
I’m glad we have faster internet for gaming lol great live !
Tobias was so funny I hope he stays on science live for a long time.
Hello From Florida!!!! We are learning so much with Acellus and the science live.
Love from Florida! I can’t wait to see if you ever talk about cryptography!
I’m sooo glad we can stream videos, since it’s something I do a lot. I remember seeing that display that the protégés showed.
R51’s network is a great example of how simple networks work!
i think this science live is so far my favorite 🤩 🤩🤩
Roger Billings has given us so much over the years yet we are only just really finding out who made them. * sob * HOW COULD YOU??????? JK. TYSM for all the contributions that make things like this actually happen. So grateful for yall. I was really sad when I saw R51 wasnt in the last vids * sob * STAY SILLY R51!!!!!!!!!!!! And stay butterfly-ie Miss Alien Monae! * giggle giggle *
I’m so thankful for these wonderful videos and the scolarship.
I love Science Live so much!!!
this was so much fun to watch !!!!
Mr. Billings has given a lot of knowledge to people.
I loved how the Ethernet was explained in such an easy way to understand.
my mom said i couldlnt do home school if this wasnt a thing thank you so much!