On the lack of innovation in the last 20 years

> Then, imagine some wild technologies that may yet be in our own future (brain-interfaced computing, a personal holodeck, a sock that never gets holes in it) and remember that (apart from areas like medicine and climate-mitigation) these technologies aren’t things we really need anymore, but represent things that would perhaps be “nice to have.”

Karl Pilkington: But my thing with iPods is... Now do we need 'em? Know what I mean? We're living in that era now where we have invented most of the stuff that we need and now we're just messing about.

Ricky Gervais: They said that in 1900. Someone actually said everything that's to be invented has already been invented, they said that in 1900 and how wrong were they?

Karl Pilkington: No but what came out, what was invented in that year where they went, "Right that's it now."

Ricky Gervais: The 20th century. Think what happened in the 20th century.

Karl Pilkington: Go on.

Ricky Gervais: Well, planes.

Karl Pilkington: Yeah, but is that a good thing, planes and that? Do you need a plane really? Wouldn't it have been better if we all stuck where we should be instead of travelling about?

I guess this is taking "innovation" as "stuff you put in your house" or "new vehicles". It's mostly an argument for older people. Fact is that there is no more need for "hardware" but there's hunger for software. Each classroom in Italy now has a screen instead of a blackboard. But hey, in 2020 we are all schooling from home. No big deal? No more need to travel to school for parents at all. We are ordering pizza with a button so hey, no mysterious "ordering tool". Our world, jobs and knowledge is being digitalized, so no more need for specialized hardware. In the 90's phones were about text. Then photos, then videos, then Internet, then ordering pizza, videoconferencing, calling a taxi, interacting with the State, going to the bank, reading the news. So no junky appliances in our kitchens, we have delivery. Unless you accept that innovation is not always about having more, but changing ways, then you won't be able to point that out and appreciate. And this is something people born before the 1980 tend not to accept.

It’s more reaching the optimal solution rather than lack of innovation. Look at commercial airliners for example. All of them look very similar, except for the number of engines, and size. It’s not the lack of innovation, it’s due to the fact that we have reached the optimal equilibrium of what an airliner should look like, given the restrictions and design goals of what an airliner needs to be.

The same applies to other day to day products as well.

But innovation still happens, by creating a new class of product. All carriages started looking the same, until the automobile was invented.