"1901: Guglielmo Marconi sent out the first trans-Atlantic radio broadcast. In commerce, King Gillette invented the double-edged safety razor, and Hubert Booth invented the vacuum cleaner.
"1902: The first trans-oceanic cable was laid, and Enrico Caruso recorded the first "hit" record. Also: Willis Carrier invented air conditioning, and George Claude invented neon lights.
"1903: Henry Ford incorporated his car company, and the Wrights' first plane took flight. Also: Mary Anderson invented windshield wipers. Crayons and tungsten light bulbs also were invented that year.
"1904: The diesel engine was first demonstrated, and the New York subway opened. Benjamin Holt invented the tractor, and John Fleming invented the vacuum diode tube.
"1905: Albert Einstein published several scientific bombshells, including his theory of relativity.
"The world changed dramatically from 1900 to 1910 -- from cars and planes to radios and records.
"So far this decade, it seems to me, only the trivial inventions have seen the light of day. The art of fracturing our minds through Twitter, iPod, YouTube, Facebook, BlackBerry and other sideshows can't erase the crying need for world-changing innovation in green technologies, which will make us and our planet better off."
So what will be the next technology that changes all our assumptions about growth, about our very survival? Will it come from nanotechnology? Will it be a breakthrough in curing disease? Will it be a new sort of fuel that provides energy at zero or low cost?
It's likely to be all of those -- and more. But we don't know for sure, and that's the point: We'll never know if we give up on our future, if we stop trying to create a society that fosters innovation and hope. We'll never reach those breakthroughs if we stop investing in the ideas and talent that will create a better future.
And that's The Savage Truth.