Presumably, advances should be better, or they wouldn't be advances. However, whether something is an advance, better, or progress, is subjective. Which means t

Presumably, advances should be better, or they wouldn't be advances. However, whether something is an advance, better, or progress, is subjective. Which means the real problem is that the set of choices is too limited to a "conventional" view of progress (e.g. you can make your work converge towards a prototypical sci-fi city, but not towards the Shire, or any other aesthetic, even though they're valid paths).