Sandy Pentland, head of the lab’s Human Dynamics group, has coined the word anti-disciplinary to describe the style of research at the Media Lab. He contends that it is the only approach suited to tackling the complex challenges facing us in the twenty-first century. I couldn’t agree more. Today’s problem – from global poverty to climate change to the obesity epidemic – are more interconnected and intertwined than ever before, and they can’t possibly be solved in the academic or research “silos” of the twentieth century. In a world where problems are so complex and multidimensional, so must be the solutions, which is why the boundaries between discrete, insular disciplines as we have known them in the past must disappear. …
I believe it is extremely telling that ever since the new Media Lab building opened its doors, it has become the favorite destination on campus for meetings between high-level MIT administration, corporation members, and their distinguished guests.
MIT has put their money, and now their mindshare, behind the Media Lab’s proposition that one of the most important disciplines in the twenty-first century will be no discipline at all. I think that makes it a fair bet.
The Sorcerers and Their Apprentices: How the Digital Magicians of the MIT Media Lab Are Creating the Innovative Technologies That Will Transform Our Lives
by Frank Moss
My reading portfolio
http://mtreadingportfolio.blogspot.jp/2012/07/the-sorcerers-and-their-apprentices-how.html
“we must humanize technology before it dehumanizes us.” Oliver Sacks
“the only guidelines for the researchers are that (1) their inventions have the potential to significantly improve people’s lives in the future and (2) their work is radically different from what everyone else is doing.”
“the Media Lab’s mission is to empower ordinary people to do truly extraordinary things and, in the process, take control over the most important aspects of their lives-their health, their wealth, and their happiness.”
“individuals can succeed in transforming society from the bottom up where our institutions have dismally failed.”
“if you’ve ever read a book on an Amazon Kindle, let Guitar Hero unleash your inner rock star, built a LEGO Mindstorms robot, downloaded a movie or music file, or driven in a vehicle with child-safe airbags, you have enjoyed the benefits of technology dreamed up at the Media Lab.”
“creativity can best be unleashed by taking the hands-on approach to learning and building that comes naturally to curious children at play.”
“the lab isn’t populated just by the computer scientist and engineers you’d expect to find at a place like MIT. It is filled with people schooled in a dizzying array of fields-architects, musicians, social scientists, psychologists, designers, neuroscientists, physicians, economists, physicists, visual artists, writers, performers, and much more-many of whom are working on projects that seem to be completely outside their realms of expertise.”
“In the real world of today, you can’t say, ‘It’s more of a computer science problem, so I’m going to bring in a computer scientist,’ or ‘It’s more of an economy problem, so I’m going to bring in an economist.’ You are expected to say, ‘Let’s look at the problem and let the problem dictate what needs to happen.’ Then you go out and recruit whatever tools, knowledge, and people that you need to get the job done.”
“fail fast to learn fast.”
“for me fun is equal to the excitement of taking risks, walking on a path I haven’t walked before. When I do that, it makes me happy to be alive.”
“the reason this seemingly random connections between people and people, and people and ideas, happen at the lab is because when a new opportunity presents itself-for what- ever reason and regardless how far afield it might be-the researchers are free to explore it and see where it takes them. Sometimes it leads to a detour, other times to a dead end. But sometimes a brand-new idea emerges, which may lead to yet another idea, and so on. The result is that any encounter or connection, by chance or otherwise, might well lead to an aha moment that could change the way we live, work, and play for a decade.”
“If you think about it, every decision that we make-even the simplest one-is colored by emotion. If you see a ball coming at you, you automatically duck to avoid getting hurt, but your emotions are involved in that decision. How can machines make decisions like humans if they don’t factor in human emotions?”
“we as human beings are really good at making changes. And we are really terrible at sticking with them. A diet is a perfect example.”
“Simply using computers is like knowing how to read and not knowing how to write. In our society, you need to know how to do both.”
My rating: 5/5
My review: I think this book was really good. it really made me think about the inventions that we will have in the future and all the great ideas that are being developed and we don’t even know about. What I liked the most is that you get a really good idea of how the culture on the lab is and how all those inventions can change people’s lives. At first I wasn’t that interested on the media lab but after reading this book I would really like to go there and see all this innovative ideas in action. I would really recommend this book if you are interested about technology and inventions or just as a book to read in your free time, you will be amazed by everything that’s going on in the lab.