[unclebucknasty]

OTOH, is it always true that "the masses" do what's best for the individuals that comprise the masses, even when measured by their own standards?

If so, I'd imagine we'd have no use for a word like visionary.

Reminds me of the famous quote from Henry Ford, that if he'd asked the people what they wanted, they'd have answered "faster horses".

[794CD01]

Just because the masses want the wrong thing doesn't mean that your different thing is better. The way I see the difference is that, after saying that, Ford gave them automobiles. He didn't fail to sell people ferret-poop rockets and then blame them for wanting faster horses.

[unclebucknasty]

Well, you'd originally asked whether it's the customer or inventor's "fault" and pretty much suggested that it was the inventor's. I was, merely indicating that it can go either way, depending on the scenario.

But, yeah, if you further qualify it by saying that the inventor was trying to sell ferret-poop rockets, then that marks a scenario that's pretty clear-cut.

[794CD01]

It's no further than my initial statement, it was just clarifying how your quote applied to the situation. The inventor is the one at fault if they envision a product people don't want. That's all. Maybe you can blame their marketing team too.