How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World

Margins. General readers who like to be entertained by nonfiction while learning something new should consider reading Steven Johnson’s book titled, How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World. He explores six breakthroughs in six chapters that he names: glass, cold, sound, clean, time and light. There’s a PBS miniseries of this content, so decide how you’d like to engage: by reading or by watching. One insight I gained from reading this book (reading was faster for me than watching the series) is that breakthroughs often come from the margins, from outside one’s core discipline. Inside a core discipline, we tend to see the benefits from gradual improvement, but an outside view can lead to big advances. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase How We Got to Now from amazon.com.