being deprived of hope is not despairing

So says Albert Camus, probably after reading this NewScientist piece reviving hopes for invisibility cloaks [sub. req.].

Many believe that building metamaterials and photonic crystals that can bend visible light in ways previously impossible is simply an engineering problem rather than a fundamental scientific challenge. Whether that will result in an optical invisibility shield, nobody is willing to say. What they will admit, though, is that the downright pessimism that reigned only five years ago is slowly being replaced by a cautious optimism.

True invisibility cloaks in two centuries, tops. Keep hope alive.