A man named Charles H. Duell was the commissioner of the U.S. Patent Office in 1899, when he was quoted as saying that “everything that can be invented has been invented.”

We chuckle at that now, with the benefit of 110 years of hindsight, because we know that a lot of life-changing innovation came after 1899. (Heavier-than-air human flight, just to name one.)

The fact that Mr. Duell never actually uttered those words is beside the point. He was misquoted, but I think the quote lives on because it captures something true about human nature: we have a hard time believing that innovation will continue at the same pace it has in the past, despite evidence that it not only continues but accelerates. I’m sure that a lot of people living at the end of the 19th century – having already seen the thrilling and maybe frightening changes the Industrial Revolution had brought – literally couldn’t imagine much more innovation. The quote captured what a lot of people were feeling, even though it’s unfair that poor Duell gets stuck with it.

Sorry for the history lesson, but I think about that quote (and the very real sentiment I believe it expressed, no matter who actually said it) every time someone tells me that that product innovation in the consumer electronics industry is dying, or even slowing down. Let me put it this way: if you think innovation is dying, you’ve never been to the Consumer Electronics Show.

As the CEO of Best Buy, I have the incredibly good fortune of previewing the amazing new innovations that the best-known technology companies around the world are developing, but I still love to come to CES, where an entire industry comes together to show its wares, and where innovation springs from unexpected sources, big and small. And every time I come, I see something that has the potential to change the world. (I vividly remember seeing TiVo for the first time. If you think the digital video recorder hasn’t changed the world, ask any of the major networks.)

This year, we already know we’ll see real advances in Green technology, in 3D television, in mobile computing and smart phone technology, just to name a few… and, as always, we’ll see some things we didn’t expect. And that’s the fun of it, for us.

Best Buy’s job is to take this incredible innovation and make it understandable and accessible to people – to you – to help you live a happier life. We answer to our customer, and that’s who we represent as we walk the CES floor.

This year, in fact, we’re bringing several of our best customers, along with some of our best employees, to get their take on CES. Together we’ll report back on what we find, right here on BestBuy.com.

Thanks for being part of this with us, and I hope you can spare a few minutes to check back in as the week unfolds. Personally, I’ll be blogging about what I see and hear, every day (in honor of Charles H. Duell, who deserved a better fate).