From the late 1990s up until the early 2000s, there was a kind of “war of the disposable razors” being waged. You’d see companies like Gilette and Wilkinson Sword advertise a new razor with three blades, followed a couple of years later by one with four blades, and then five blades, and so on. At the time, there was an assumption going around that these companies already had the technology for the next stage multi-blade razors before each new release, but they wanted to stagger the releases so that each new announcement felt fresh and exciting.
We aren’t accusing razor companies of underhand tactics here, nor do we know for sure if the story is true or not. However, it illustrates a conundrum that we often find in the world of tech: Namely, whether necessity is the mother of invention or, invention is the mother of necessity. Was there a need for razors with extra blades, or was that need manufactured?
Humans will always invent when necessary
Let’s take another example – this time looking at the strange tale of Myrtle Beach casino cruise’s gambling business – the famous “Cruise to Nowhere”. In a nutshell, entrepreneurs looked at the popular seaside resort of Myrtle Beach and wondered whether they could cash in with some casinos. The problem, however, was that casinos weren’t legal in the state of South Carolina. So, the solution was to put the casinos on cruise ships anchored three miles off the coast, i.e. beyond the legal jurisdiction of the United States.
Again, with the example of the gambling cruise, we see necessity being the mother of invention. The entrepreneurs saw a hurdle, i.e., the legal issue around gambling in South Carolina, so they ‘invented’ a novel solution. Of course, we can also flip the issue, arguing that the entrepreneurs created the perception that casinos were necessary and, thus, invented the solution for an artificial problem. The visitors to Myrtle Beach were probably more than happy before the “Cruise to Nowhere” became an option.
How does this all fit in with modern technology, then? Well, it’s difficult to say. The arguments become almost philosophical. For example, you could claim that a smartphone is a necessity with just as much weight in your case as claiming it is an unnecessary luxury item.
But there are certain areas of technology where we can see invention being the mother of necessity. Take, for example, the lack of a headphone jack on some modern smartphones, especially iPhones. When Apple removed the jack, it was clear what the company intended to do – create demand for its AirPods.
Certain inventions create a false sense of necessity
For some consumers, the omission of the headphone jack was a natural evolutionary step in the iPhone. For others, it was a controversial move, creating artificial demand for something, perhaps desirable, but unnecessary. Apple was not alone in ditching the jack, but we saw some pushback when Google reintroduced the jack for its mid-range Pixel 3a devices in 2019.
Much of the debate around technology in this area, however, comes down to a question of necessity versus convenience. Something like a smartwatch is difficult to argue as a necessary device, although you could claim that they are essential as health monitors. But, for the majority, the invention has created the sense of necessity, not the other way around. We could make the same point about a whole series of tech things, from internet-connected fridges to the, now infamous, smart toilet, invention was – for the large part – the mother of necessity.
So, is there a lesson here? Or are we simply reiterating what everyone knows already; namely, that consumer technology is rarely essential, but that it is certainly convenient? We are stating the obvious, of course. But there is a lesson, and that is we should remind ourselves about the line between necessary technology and the perception of necessary. That line is not always clear. But it’s worth trying to find it.