Not all inventions change the world, and loud technological promises don't always turn into reality.
Why do some innovations fail, others disappoint, and some are abandoned by humanity altogether? About this in the book "Inventions and Innovations". A short history of great ideas and failures," says the scientist Vaclav Smil, whose 36 works have been read by Bill Gates.
"Babel" publishes an excerpt from the introduction to the book, which was published in Ukrainian by the "Laboratory" publishing house.