The Media Lab: Inventing the Future at M.I.T.

Even though this book is somewhat dated now, it still has a purpose in that it provides a look at what one innovative facility was like at the time. For example, an opening observation made by the founder and director of the MIT lab, Nicolas Negroponte still applies, i.e., that all communications media and technologies are poised for redefinition. In terms of innovation, Brand writes "Once a technology rolls over you, if you're not part of the steamroller, you're part of the road."We're told that Negroponte views all communication technologies as a single subject and the process itself as a craft. He divides advertising into two categories, "advertising as noise" and "advertising as news."This book goes to show that while the delivery systems are always changing, content is significant. Some of the technologies which were relatively new at the time this book came out are commonplace now. The philosophical insights Brand makes are worth consideration at any time. As a result this book is still pertinent.