Thanks to everyone who wrote in with good wishes about our house closing yesterday -- I'm happy to report that we are in possession of a 100-year-old brownstone right off of Prospect Park in Brooklyn. It needs quite a bit of work, but we're pretty thrilled. Anyone who has ever lived in New York City will understand that the most amazing thing right now is contemplating the idea that we own something with 1) a backyard, and 2) a basement. I may actually have to learn how to use power tools without injuring myself just to live up to this new space. You can click here for a picture of the front if you're so inclined.
The Basics
- I'm a father of three boys, husband of one wife, and author of eight books, and co-founder of three web sites. We spend most of the year in Marin County, California though I'm on the road a lot giving talks. (You can see the full story here.) Personal correspondence should go to sbeej68 at gmail dot com. If you're interested in having me speak at an event, drop a line to Wesley Neff at the Leigh Bureau (WesN at Leighbureau dot com.)
My Books
Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation
An exploration of environments that lead to breakthrough innovation, in science, technology, business, and the arts. I conceived it as the closing book in a trilogy on innovative thinking, after Ghost Map and Invention. But in a way, it completes an investigation that runs through all the books. Sold more copies in hardcover than anything else I've written.The Invention of Air
The story of the British radical chemist Joseph Priestley, who ended up having a Zelig-like role in the American Revolution. My version of a founding fathers book, and a reminder that most of the Enlightenment was driven by open source ideals.The Ghost Map
The latest: the story of a terrifying outbreak of cholera in 1854 London 1854 that ended up changing the world. An idea book wrapped around a page-turner. I like to think of it as a sequel to Emergence if Emergence had been a disease thriller. You can see a trailer for the book here.Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter
The title says it all. This one sparked a slightly insane international conversation about the state of pop culture -- and particularly games. There were more than a few dissenters, but the response was more positive than I had expected. And it got me on The Daily Show, which made it all worthwhile.Mind Wide Open : Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life
My first best-seller, and the only book I've written in which I appear as a recurring character, subjecting myself to a battery of humiliating brain scans. The last chapter on Freud and the neuroscientific model of the mind is one of my personal favorites.Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software
The story of bottom-up intelligence, from slime mold to Slashdot. Probably the most critically well-received all my books, and the one that has influenced the most eclectic mix of fields: political campaigns, web business models, urban planning, the war on terror.Interface Culture : How New Technology Transforms the Way We Create and Communicate
My first. The book I wrote instead of finishing my dissertation. Still in print almost a decade later, and still relevant, I think. But I haven't read it in a while, so who knows what's in there!
Recent Posts
- The GovLab
- What Peer Progressives Really Believe
- Tilting At Windmills, The Internet Edition
- Bill Clinton On "Creative Networks of Collaboration"
- A Quick Roundup Of Future Perfect News
- Future Perfect Tour
- First reviews for Future Perfect
- Introducing Future Perfect
- Why The Bay Area Needs The Bay Lights
- Anatomy Of An Idea
Amazing home. Congratulations! Just remember, www.bobvila.com. The site has saved many of us.
Posted by: Jordon Cooper | November 21, 2002 at 10:59 AM
Wow, gorgeous house. Bay windows! I may be emailing you for realtor advice when we relocate to NYC from Tokyo early next year...
Congratulations from one who's been there,
A.
Posted by: Adam Greenfield | November 21, 2002 at 11:43 AM
Thanks, folks. We're pretty excited -- still a ton of work to do (new electricity, plumbing, kitchen, etc.) But it'll be pretty great when we finally move in...
Posted by: Steven Johnson | November 22, 2002 at 10:55 AM
Picked up your blog from daypop I think it was. I hail from London but I lived in NJ for a while anywayz, seeing as you live in Brookyln and have just bought a house there I was just looking at the area on the web and found this which you might find useful since you live in the neighborhood :
http://www.smalltownbrooklyn.com
There's an equivalent one for london...
http://www.streetsensation.co.uk
Keep up the good work!!
Posted by: Michael Negus | November 23, 2002 at 05:06 AM
Does it have one of those Panic Rooms?
Posted by: Andrew | November 23, 2002 at 05:45 AM