You probably have heard the story about a former director of the U.S. Patent Office. In 1899, the story goes, he recommended closing the office because “everything that can be invented has been invented.”
As with many good stories, this one isn’t true. The patent office in 1899 reported an increase of 3,000 patents from the previous year. What the same patent office director actually said in 1902 is a bit more uplifting: “In my opinion, all previous advances in the various lines of invention will appear totally insignificant when compared with those which the present century will witness. I almost wish that I might live my life over again to see the wonders which are at the threshold.”