Like the monster in Mary Shelley`s novel ”Frankenstein,” automation can sometimes run amok. We`re left behind, watching helplessly as the motorized innards of our cameras take on wills of their own.

Being able to rewind in games is ace. Prince of Persia would be roughly ten million times as frustrating if you couldn't undo that swan dive you just did onto some spikes. Using rewind to dislodge ...