A bunch of us got together this evening with our friend Anubha Sacheti Surati to watch the final episode of America’s Greatest Makers in which Grush, a smart child’s toothbrush, won a $1 million prize.
All of the finalists had sensor-heavy creations perhaps due to the fact that Intel is a big sponsor and Intel makes… sensors.
It was unclear how people qualified to be judges:
- “Mike Rowe is a TV host, writer, narrator, producer, actor, spokesman, …”
- “Kenny Smith is an NBA studio analyst for TNT Sports. … Smith won two NBA World Championships with the Houston Rockets in 1994 and 1995.”
Of course it is not easy to succeed as an actor or a basketball player, but why does an actor or a basketball player have a special appreciation for engineering achievement or business potential? I guess I should just be happy that they like Anubha!
Related:
Mike Rowe had a good TED talk about the nature of work and its relation to humans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRVdiHu1VCc
Smart toothbrushes are a famously germane product which has been around for years & never really worked. Consumer IMUs have been around for a decade & don’t really work as position sensors either. It’s a testament to monetary policy that something this germane & nonviable can now be valued at $1.8 million & be considered a breakthrough. They’ll be able to hire more employees, but it’s a shame employment can’t be generated more efficiently.
Looks like a good idea. Screen time that accomplishes something. My kids would love it.
Now if they would come up with a game that makes it cool to keep sugar and acid from jumping in their teeth in the first place…
I haven’t watched Mike Rowe’s shows (dirty jobs) but I found him to be a really sharp wit on a podcast w/ Tim Ferriss (who is good enough to get excellent guests)
Kenny Smith … smarter than Charles Barkley?