Much-hyped technological innovation isn’t necessarily progress

Modern advances in communication technology, computer power and medical science can sometimes be so startling as to seem almost like magic. It’s easy to get excited about it all — but what happens if we get too excited? What happens if we lean too heavily on technology, convinced that it can solve all our problems? What happens if we begin to see technology in an unrealistic, hyped-up way? These are the questions at the heart of Gemma Milne’s book.

The answer — somewhat unsurprisingly — is that over-excitement is a bad thing. Hype can damage scientific progress and in some cases send it into reverse. Whether it’s in the development of nuclear fusion, the commercialisation of space or in the creation of quantum computers, ‘unmet expectations based on possibly overhyped claims will land [research] in another slump, maybe for another decade or, perhaps, forever’.

The idea that our enthusiasm for the new, which for so long has helped to drive human progress, could in fact end up holding us back is a nice one.