The Best Inventions of 2014.... or Not

This week it was difficult for me to come up with a topic for my blog post.  Usually something will happen throughout the week that will trigger an idea, but over spring break I got absolutely nothing.  Being away from this tech school, I guess I really did take a break from being aware of anything technology related around me!  So I literally typed “technology” and “computers” into Google to see if there was anything interesting that could spark an idea for my blog.  I still found nothing.  Finally, after searching “new inventions 2014”, I settled on a topic.  I found a list of the 25 Best Inventions of 2014 on Time.com.  Usually, I trust TIME to know their stuff, and have good judgement on, in this case, what the “best” inventions are.  I’m not sure now. 

The very first thing on the list is Hendo Hoverboard.  Now do not get me wrong, the Back to the Future trilogy are in the top running for my favorite movies of all time, and I can definitely appreciate a good hoverboard.  The thing is it costs $10,000… uh no thanks.  Unless you’re Bif Tannen in Back to the Future Part Two, I highly doubt you have a measly $10K to throw at a hoverboard, which, by the way, can only float an inch above the ground, and has a battery life of 15 minutes.  So, yes, it’s a great invention technologically speaking, but I’m not sure where the Hendo was thinking they’d get their profit from with this one.

There are familiar things are on the list, like 3-D printers that can print everything, and the Apple Watch, but there’s also things I never thought would need to exist.  For example, Ringly.  Ringly is a ring (what a surprise) that is programmed to glow when wearers get any type of notification on their cell phones.  This product seems to being a hit, seeing as the first 1,000 rings were sold out within 24 hours, but I just don’t see why this is necessary at all.  Us humans are already extremely lazy as it is, and now reaching into our bags to check our phones is too much work?  Good grief.  I think this invention is pointless because, just as a phone rings when you receive a call, your phone can be set to ring when receiving any other type of notification as well.  So you don’t need to go through the struggle of digging through your bag just to check IF you got a notification, if it could simply just ring when you DEFINITELY got one.  Are you picking up what I’m putting down?  And it’s not like the ring lets you know what the notification is, so you would still have to dig through your bag to get your phone out anyway! Come on, ladies.  Use your brains. 

Oh here we go. The Selfie Stick.  The number of these things I saw over Christmas break in Disney World was unreal.  So I understand the purpose of it, I understand that now you can fit a lot more into your frame for your picture, but you look absolutely ridiculous when doing it.  And yes, I am judging you.  The same way I judge people for wearing Crocs.  They may be comfy, but you look like an idiot.  We have become a world where simply asking someone to take your picture for you is too much interaction between people.  It is honestly a depressing thought; the fact that Earth is turning into a giant, antisocial, Croc wearing, Selfie Stick using, matching family T-shirts, kind of place. 

I am all for the progress of technology.  I go to Stevens for a reason.  But if the so called progress enforces lazy behavior, or causes even less physical, personal, interaction between people, then I don’t really see how it’s considered progress.  Ever since freshman year, I have been noticing more and more how technology is taking these leaps, and all of these improvements are being made (they say), but I have witnessed more good than bad.  Maybe it’s because all of the good, new technology is expensive.  So normal, middle class people don’t get to experience those things?  And we get all of the bad, new technology that costs less money, and is therefore used by everyone, becoming the next fad?  I don’t know, just a thought.