STUPID OR AMAZING?

SIMPLY BECAUSE A NEW INVENTION IS INNOVATIVE DOESN’T MAKE IT SMART. HERE, OUR JUDGEMENT OF THIS YEAR’S MOST NOTABLE “ADVANCES.”

In the 1800s, we thought the telephone was amazing. Now we have hybrid computer phones in our pockets. Flat-screen TVS impressed us in the early 2000s, but that was before we’d seen HD. Which was before we’d seen OLED TVS. And there’s no way the guy who invented the microwave knew he’d indirectly spawned an entire convenience food industry. But for every useful creation, there is a useless one. For every person inventing the PC in his garage, there’s someone thinking up the recumbent bike. It can be hard to tell what technological feats are worthy of our time and admiration. That’s why we’re here. As a magazine, we support advancement. But we also realise that sometimes – just sometimes – there is such a thing as a bad idea.