IMHO the greatest inventions are those of the highest utility relative to cost of implementation. Such inventions usually arise from tenaciously scratching a particularly bothersome itch.<p>For example, I&#x27;ve seen many Scala programmers struggle with achieving maximal type safety due to getting bogged down in boilerplate. To attack this problem (as I see it anyway, but that&#x27;s all which matters for now) I&#x27;m researching ways of utilizing Scala macros to cut down on such boilerplate while retaining type safety.<p>This has been huge for my own side work (which means the utility is definitely there), but I&#x27;m still uncertain as to the cost, i.e. what effects my approach might have on a &quot;serious&quot; commercial project. I&#x27;m just going to have to find out the old fashioned way.