iPhone Priorities?

The Herald’s Sideswipe column has the results of a study of UK residents to find what they considered the best invention. It’s bemusing, to say the least.

The results (emphasis added by me) are below:

1. Wheel
2. Aeroplane
3. Light bulb
4. internet
5. PCs
6. Telephone
7. Penicillin
8. iPhone
9. Flushing toilet
10. Combustion engine

Yes, you read that right. The Apple iPhone has narrowly edged out the combustion engine. Now while I don’t know exactly what question was asked and how scientific the study was (not very, I can only hope?), you have to ask questions of anyone who believes the iPhone to be a more integral part of human development than the combustion engine.

This is just absurd hysteria. I have a lot of respect for Apple’s marketing job here – anyone who can convince the consumer their product is more important to the world than a device squarely at the center of the industrial revolution is clearly doing something very right – however the natural corollary of this is that there is something equally wrong with the person willing to believe this.

I don’t say this to belittle the iPhone, because frankly I know how vengeful a scorned Apple fan can be, but even though the iPhone may be wonderful isn’t this taking it just a wee bit far? The combustion engine, despite the problems it causes us today in an age of concern over emissions, is still an integral part of much of our culture, and even more of our development.

If all the world’s iPhones were to vanish tomorrow, I think we’d all get along quite fine, thank you very much.

UPDATE: I’ve since found the link to the Daily Telegraph.