Ask HN: Non-Computer Technologies/Materials with untapped potential?

I just watched a video of Eric Weinstein interviewing Peter Thiel. Peter said something at the start of the interview I found interesting (paraphrasing): "We have the computer from Star Trek, but nothing else". The context was around technological stagnation, specifically how we've made tremendous strides in "bits" and few in "atoms" since the 70's. Whether or not you agree with that idea I think it provokes an interesting question: what technologies/materials unrelated to computers have been slept on?

The link to the interview if you're interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM9f0W2KD5s