Time’s Best Inventions of 2009; or, Why I’m Not Posting Right Now

By Lev Grossman | @leverus | October 30, 2009 | +

Remember that thing Time does every fall, where we pick the best inventions of the year? No? Now? Still not?

Well, we do. And I’m in charge of it. It probably accounts for many multiples of my annual salary in ad revenue, hence my continued employment here. So I’ve been focused on that. And on Uncharted 2. Back Monday.

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http://youtube.com/churchhatestucker Church

Ah yes, the patented “Count down from One” method from Time. Maximise the increasing indifference. Brilliant.

You could at least make it 33.
http://twitter.com/thepeterha Peter Ha

I’ll have a special treat for everyone in a little bit.
Kemper

Where are Quittner and Selman? Has there been some kind of Nerd World civil war with Lev and Peter Ha the victors?
http://www.twitter.com/leverus Lev Grossman

It was nerd world ragnarok. Quittner was devoured by the wolf Fenrir. Selman was swallowed by the world-snake.
tereglith

Did your epic battle damage the Yggdrasil?
http://www.twitter.com/leverus Lev Grossman

Yeah, that thing is totally trashed.
byron12

Did I miss the BSG reference?
Kemper

I was thinking of the Cylon civil war on my comment, but of course, it went right over Lev’s head and he went off in a totally different direction. Obviously, I was much too subtle.
Kemper

Oh, and Church worked a 33 in there, too.
anon76

See, and I thought you were going for blood on the scales/the oath. Did anyone really emerge victorious from the cylon civil war? Methinks that s/he who laughs last has not been flushed down a black hole.
noconfusion

Uncharted 2! I was obsessed for a good week and a half. I couldn’t kill Lazorevic (or whatever his name is), so I gave up and started playing Oblivion. xD
http://discussionator.com LeeJH

I suppose it’s tricky to know if something was actually invented in 2009, or in a prior year. Usually you only know when it started production, and that’s assuming it actually is in production.
http://performancetrap.org David Wesley

Lev,

I am glad to see Project Natal included in the list. Time has made some very insightful observations in the past, despite the fact that it is not a technology journal.

I have added my own thoughts on the topic and compared it to a similar Time list compiled in 1993 (www.performancetrap.org). That year, Time nominated two products that have represented critical technology shifts within the video game industry (3DO Multiplayer and PowerPC microprocessor).

This year’s list, like the one from 1993, features technologies that will fundamentally change the world we live in. No doubt about it.