This interview with the inventor of the inerter is fascinating. Mechanical engineering has been mostly figured out, we just remix designs and inventions discovered hundreds of years ago. The inerter is an exception to this rule, a novel invention that still hasn’t broken out of niche use cases like Formula One suspension systems.
When asked if I’m a motorsports fan, my common response is that I’m more into the “motor” than the “sport”. I’d much rather spend my sundays learning about the engineering of the vehicles than watching the cars go in circles.