what if the extrapolations from the past are wrong? Perhaps people don't work on faster airplanes because they don't need faster airplanes, but instead they wa

what if the extrapolations from the past are wrong? Perhaps people don't work on faster airplanes because they don't need faster airplanes, but instead they want to avoid traveling altogether. sci fi ideas from the past are nice, but they were based on linear extrapolations from their contemporary reality -- faster horses indeed. imho the primary focus of innovation at this time should be biotech for life extension , eradication of disease and hunger. Faster roads in an increasingly remotely-connected world does not seem very forward-looking, instead the world needs faster networks , cleaner cities, the ability to become independent from megacorps, and decent communities that can be enjoyable to live in. economists or technologists often claim to know what people want, but maybe they 're not being observant of what makes people unhappy