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[eric_stasik]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/07/60minutes/rooney/main665523.shtml

Master of understatement and CBS News commentator Andy Rooney declares:

"The age of invention is over, I’m afraid.... The cell phone is not an invention. It’s an improvement on Bell's invention, and nothing in my lifetime has changed the way we live in an unimportant way more than the cell phone has."

[DavidStein]

Master of understatement and CBS News commentator Andy Rooney declares:

"The age of invention is over, I’m afraid.... The cell phone is not an invention. It’s an improvement on Bell's invention, and nothing in my lifetime has changed the way we live in an unimportant way more than the cell phone has."

Perhaps he was merely commemorating the 105th anniversary of Charles Duell's infamous "everything that can be invented, has been invented" statement. (Shame to think he was the Commissioner of the USPTO at that time.)

If I had the chance to respond to Andy, I'd borrow Einstein's adage that nothing in science is so complicated that it couldn't be explained to a child. My adaptation would be to assert that most of the groundbreaking new technologies are simple enough to be recognized, maybe even used, by a child. Or, to borrow another adage: It's really easy to invent something complicated; it's really hard to invent something simple.

The Blackberry could be dismissed as simply a 21st-century analogue to the telegraph. Yet its importance is undeniable: text messaging is becoming the mobile communications model of choice, for many reasons. Similarly, the microwave is just an updated version of the oven; yet its convenience helped shape the customs of modern society.

In short, I think Andy's inability to grasp the importance of these technologies says much more about him than about modern technology.

Sincerely,

David Stein, Esq.

[JimIvey]

In my opinion, Andy Rooney is just one more person appearing regularly on TV that should just not be taken seriously.  The biggest beef I have with the media these days is repeated references to "patent expert" Greg Aharonian.  I don't think he's ever read one, y'know cover-to-cover.  Last I checked, he was still grappling with the "claim as a whole" concept.

If you ask me, the "Age of Responsible Reporting" is over.

Regards.

[Isaac]

I wasn't aware that Andy Rooney was intended to be taken seriously.
I thought his stuff was always silly and tongue in cheek.  Have
I been missing the point all these years?

[JimIvey]

I think Andy's gimmick is the "wise fool" comedy paradigm -- seems confused and befuddled but has a ring of truth in what he says.  A least, that's how I first perceived him in the early 1980s.  

However, after several viewings, I decided that the "wise" was quite small relative to the "fool".  To me, watching some guy blather on about how much he doesn't know and how confused he gets isn't funny or even moderately interesting.  

So, yes, he's supposed to be funny and therefore not taken seriously.  However, to me, the standard "wise fool" comedy paradigm requires that the fool have a valid and interesting point.  Understanding that, I suspect his audience assumes there is a valid and interesting point there and would consider taking such assertions of "the age of invention is over" seriously.  60 Minutes is, afterall, a news program -- or at least that's what CBS claims.

Of course, that's just one person's opinion.

[eric stasik]

The biggest beef I have with the media these days is repeated references to "patent expert" Greg Aharonian.  I don't think he's ever read one, y'know cover-to-cover.

Shazam Mr. Ivey. That comment made my morning!

Cheers,

Eric Stasik