Invention saturation (From Haringey Independent)

Invention saturation

12:13pm Thursday 25th October 2007 in The Haringey Blog By Caron Kemp

I'm beginning to feel that inventions nowadays are just not that exciting.

Being around when television, telephones, electricity etc were invented must have been obviously revolutionary but I can't help feeling we've reached saturation point and are now just creating for the sake of creation.

Take the latest mod-con added to the list of useless lifestyle additions. The Airbus A380; the world's largest passenger plane ever.

With space for 850 passengers, two ecomony class areas divided by stairs, private first-class suites and a wingspan almost the length of a football pitch it's meant to be quite impressive. But I can't help thinking 'so what?'

Surely a plane's purpose is just to get you from A to B. Ok no one can deny that travelling in luxury is preferable but no doubt the cost reflects the unneccessary perks.

I don't know if it's a good or bad thing that we now live in a world surrounded by everything we could conceive of as being even remotely useful but inventors might need to be especially clever or face a mass exodus to the job centre clasping their P45.

You only have to watch BBC's Dragons Den to confirm this view. This week a lady actually received money for a doll that could be personalised to look like you. Not only did it look shabby and extremely tacky, but I fail to see why anyone would want one.

Then there was the lady who invented a portable cupboard to hold an iron and ironing board. One of the Dragons correctly noted that she was trying (badly) to solve a problem that doesn't exist.

That's all on top of the guy who invented a ball to put in the loo that apparently helped encourage children to toilet train. His idea was quite simply potty.

In fact I don't remember an invention on The Dragons Den or otherwise in recent times worth writing home about.

Is the ipod really going to be the best thing to come out of the 21st century?