Thread: Technological Innovation: What's Next?

Will we ever have something new and exciting like televisions were in the 1950's or like the internet was when it became popular in the 90's and began to expand? It seems to me like we haven't had any amazing, popular world-changing innovations lately..it just seems that people are trying to miniaturize existing electronics. I've been waiting for something new, creative and fun since the late 90's. Why is creativity stagnant in America right now? Where are our Einsteins? Our Edisons? Our Bells? Is it due to large corporations who hire people to be corporate drones and kill individuality?

Where have you been? Since the 1990's they made cheap cell phones that can do as much as a computer can and then some. Hybrid cars and electric cars getting over 50 MPG are common. We put rovers on Mars that are doing allot of scientific research. The ISS was put into orbit as well as the Hubble telescope. Much has been done with renewable energy like wind turbines and solar panels that can be bought rather cheaply now. New advances in medicines and stem cell research is helping millions of people live longer and helping to cure diseases. I can go on about many other things that have been accomplished since 1990 but with what I've listed already I think you should see that there's been many things done.

I find all of those things incredibly boring and wow, you can have the internet on your phone now...that isn't much of an innovation just a new application of the internet which we already had for a long time. As far as medical innovations go, that is true but that's not what I'm talking about here.

I care mostly about things in the entertainment realm. Virtual 3D simulation would be cool if done properly and inexpensively. Yes, video games have better graphics than they used to but they are still simply enhanced versions of older games. I need something entirely new.

I care mostly about things in the entertainment realm.

Given your educational background, this seems sort of shallow.

Your definition of technological innovation is 'things which relieve my boredom.

Well, I can't argue with that. I can't help that I'm bored though.

Originally Posted by mikepotter84

Will we ever have something new and exciting like televisions were in the 1950's or like the internet was when it became popular in the 90's and began to expand? It seems to me like we haven't had any amazing, popular world-changing innovations lately..it just seems that people are trying to miniaturize existing electronics. I've been waiting for something new, creative and fun since the late 90's. Why is creativity stagnant in America right now? Where are our Einsteins? Our Edisons? Our Bells? Is it due to large corporations who hire people to be corporate drones and kill individuality?

Most life-changing technology entered with the industrial revolution. I would love to see something so mindboggling as the Electric Lamp, the Wireless, or the Motor hitting the streets... as you said though what we've done since is refine and combine technologies, and make a few industrial strides (like transistors) that bring quantitative change like faster, smaller, cheaper. I'd say real change began to spread thin when the idea of combining sound with motion picture was billed as an amazing innovation (see Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times for Orwellian prediction of our now ageless age). By the time we cued up to buy wristwatch radios and wristwatch calculators we were growing desperate.

Where are our flying cars, affordable jet-packs, realistic 3-D virtual simulators (like in Minority Report), hoverboards, time machines, etc?

Get on it people!