Too much innovation?

Blu-ray discs. Is there such a thing as too much innovation? Yes. At some point, the law of diminishing returns kicks in. When new products, or in this case formats, are introduced so often, the overall benefit to the consumer is lessened until eventually there really is not a significant difference between formats. Don't get me wrong, DVDs are great. The transition from VHS tapes to DVDs was certainly a crucial one. DVDs are more affordable, more preservable, have better picture, and have better sound.

This is the thing. We, as a technologically-literate nation, have to establish a limit. We have to say, "Okay, there's not that much of a different between DVDs and Blu-ray discs. We really don't need a change right now.' Instead of the American public being so susceptible to half-decent marketing attempts for $60 movie discs that are allegedly of higher quality, we need to put our feet down and say, "No." Instead, we should invest our time and resources into improving something that has not been improved in a very long time. Instead of coming up with new movie disc formats every two years, let's update a product that hasn't been changed in possibly sixty years. Something important; with the power to save lives.

Think about airbags. Since their invention in 1951, there's been very little change. The concept and material from which they are made has remained the same and has been devoid of improvement. In the year 2007,  in the 21st century, we still can not figure out how to stop people's faces from getting burned when an airbag is released due to a crash. We have the ability to send people to the moon, but we can't figure out how to switch out the air bag fabric to reduce the rate of injury. I, personally think this is false. I don't think lack of ability can be held responsible for the lack of improvement. The problem is simply that our resources are invested elsewhere.

We're spending time and money inventing new formats for movies when realistically, the DVD is fine as it is. So, America, I'm giving you a task to complete today; a goal to work towards, if not accomplish within the next few years. Let's think about the concept of too much innovation next time we go to invent a product. Hopefully this can help us, as a planet, redirect some of our efforts into areas that truly do need help.

You tell me: does innovation have a limit?