25 July

Ideas constantly improve things. Mostly it’s unnoticed because everyday things seem simple. Like my new dishbrush. I paid a bit more for this one, but was a bit sceptical because it didn’t look very strong. The bristles are spread much further apart, it looked like they wouldn’t have the ‘grunt’ of the old one, where the bristles were clumped much closer together. This thing would rip the rust off a seaside pier. Somebody’s done research into optimum placement and angle of bristles, it’s clear. Research that will be invisible to most of us, because it just works. Ever noticed how cars got progressively quieter and more efficient over the years? Somebody, somewhere, is always thinking and improving things. Smart is the only sexy. The stupid will cling to a point-in-time version for most things, objects and unchanging ideas become totems their social groups rally around. All human progress is the battle between knowledge and social team sports.