The problem is, there are definitely some genuinely lame things on television, and there's more at the bottom of the barrel, because the barrel in a sense has gotten bigger. Steven Johnson barrelbigbottom Change image and share on social
We are strangely biased, as individuals and media institutions, to focus on big sudden changes, whether good or bad - amazing breakthroughs, such as a new gadget that gets released, or catastrophic failures, like a plane crash. Steven Johnson amazebadbias share on social
If we didn't have genetic mutations, we wouldn't have us. You need error to open the door to the adjacent possible. Steven Johnson adjacentdoorerror Change image and share on social
I love those stretches where I've just been a writer - when I haven't been doing Internet start-ups - where I pretty much eliminate meetings from my life. Steven Johnson eliminatehaveinternet Change image and share on social
What's encouraging is that the early new platforms - Kindle and iPad - are clearly leading to people buying more books. The data is in on that. Steven Johnson bookbuydatum Change image and share on social
Calculus, the electrical battery, the telephone, the steam engine, the radio - all these groundbreaking innovations were hit upon by multiple inventors working in parallel with no knowledge of one another. Steven Johnson batterycalculuselectrical share on social
As much as we sometimes roll our eyes at the ivory-tower isolation of universities, they continue to serve as remarkable engines of innovation. Steven Johnson continueengineeye Change image and share on social
What you end up seeing when you look at history is that people who have been good at pushing the boundaries of possibility, and exploring those frontiers of good ideas and innovations, have rarely done it in moments of great inspiration. They don't just have a brilliant breakthrough idea out of nowhere and leap ahead of everyone else. Steven Johnson aheadboundarybreakthrough share on social
When it's a sharing and improvisational meeting, where you're riffing off other people's ideas, that actually can be productive. Steven Johnson ideaimprovisationalmeet Change image and share on social
I suspect millions of people from my generation probably have comparable stories to tell: if not of sports simulations then of Dungeons & Dragons, or the geopolitical strategy of games like Diplomacy, a kind of chess superimposed onto actual history. Steven Johnson actualchesscomparable share on social