Meet the robot that pretends to listen

John Holden is a journalist specializing in science, tech and innovation. His work has appeared mainly in the Irish Times. Cornered at a party by some bore talking about his unimaginative app that will "change the world." All seemingly convincing excuses to leave have already been used by the rest of the group (who were all there just a second ago). The last refuge of the rude scoundrel -- the smartphone -- is in your jacket pocket in the cloakroom all the way across the room. So you just have to suck it up and simulate enthusiasm for this guy's pitch.