When Things Start to ThinkThis is a book for people who want to know what the future is going to look like and for people who want to know how to create the future. Gershenfeld offers a glimpse at the brave new post-computerized world, where microchips work for us instead of against us. He argues that we waste the potential of the microchip when we confine it to a box on our desk: the real electronic revolution will come when computers have all but disappeared into the walls around us. Imagine a digital book that looks like a traditional book printed on paper and is pleasant to read in bed but has all the mutability of a screen display. How about a personal fabricator that can organize digitized atoms into anything you want, or a musical keyboard that can be woven into a denim jacket? Gershenfeld tells the story of his Things that Think group at MIT's Media Lab, the group of innovative scientists and researchers dedicated to integrating digital technology into the fabric of our lives. |
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WHEN THINGS START TO THINK
User Review - KirkusThis book is the result of Gershenfeld's years of research as director of the Physics and Media Group at MIT's famous Media Lab—it lets us peek at the remarkable new digitized world he foresees. He ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - dvf1976 - LibraryThingThe title of this book as well as certain passages describing the 'Home of the Future was very enticing. There were too many digressions into only tangentially-related areas though. Read full review
Contents
Bits and Books | 13 |
Digital Expression | 27 |
Wear Ware Where? | 45 |
The Personal Fabricator | 63 |
Smart Money | 77 |
Rights and Responsibilities | 95 |
Bad Words | 107 |
Bit Beliefs | 123 |
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Bibliographic information
| Title | When Things Start to Think An Owl book |
| Authors | Neil A. Gershenfeld, Neil Gershenfeld |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Macmillan, 1999 |
| ISBN | 080505880X, 9780805058802 |
| Length | 225 pages |
| Subjects | › Science / General |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |