What will be the next great invention? Ask a teenager

From the lightbulb to the web, the British have a great history of innovation. We must help young people to keep inspiring usFrom the sewing machine to ice cream, the railway to the telegraph, the 19th century was awash with invention. It seems you couldn't turn your back without someone inventing the flushing toilet, the typewriter, the light bulb, X-ray, or the wireless.The Victorians certainly had a knack for recognising a need, an opportunity, a better way of doing things – as a recent poll of Britain's greatest inventions shows. And recognising needs is what innovation is all about. It's not about widgets for the sake of widgets.The 19th century may loom large, but modern Britons certainly haven't lost the urge to innovate. For the best part of 40 years the BBC show Tomorrow's World, which I helped present, was witness to the brilliance and imagination of engineers, scientists and technologists of every kind. The people behind Concorde, the first home computer, the web, IVF, sat nav, the digital camera.Sometimes scientists were cracking problems I hadn't realised existed – like the machine that could tell the difference between a thousand different shades of tomato. And ironically perhaps, their work frequently addressed environmental issues caused by the industrial revolution so revered by those bemoaning the lack of contemporary British innovation.How can we best support the spirit of innovation, and make the 21st century as memorable as the 19th? Ask young teenage...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Comment guardian.co.uk Society Technology UK news Young people Education Science Comment is free Source Type: news