You&#x27;re missing the authors point, heck you&#x27;re even reinstating it yourself:<p>&gt; Cars, though still totally recognizable as cars, are much safer than they were. Airplane flights are both cheaper and safer.<p>&gt; Certain diseases have been eradicated.<p>That&#x27;s what he&#x27;s saying. We&#x27;ve mostly (massively) refined  existing technology instead of revolutionized it: vaccines, airplanes and cars are all pre-1950 technology.<p>Not sure if I agree, but it feels like you haven&#x27;t even read the article.