The idea for this blog post came to me after a friend mentioned teleporting on Facebook. I suggested she teleport over to my local pub some 100 miles away from her for excellent cider and music. If she'd had the technology she'd have been able to do that and still be home in time to make cocoa for her fiancé. It got me thinking about how cheap and effective teleportation might affect our lives. It certainly would make keeping up with far-flung friends easier. Of course, this is nothing new - other bits of technology have done that - the car, telephone and Internet spring to mind. These were not always instant solutions - cars still cost money to drive and a few decades ago, a long distance phone call was ten times the cost of a local call even within the UK. Still, if teleporting was possible, you'd be able to enjoy a real hug. Another factor, familiar to traffic engineers is that if travel becomes easier, congestion rises to meet it. That would be unlikely to affect...