5 New Books MIT Media Lab Thinks You Should Read

by Chris Weller for Business Insider

COURTESY OF TODD VAN HOOSEAR

Joi Ito, the head of MIT Media Lab, picked five titles that should help anyone get a feel for where the future is headed. Here's what to read in 2017 if you want a leg up on 2018.1. "Deep Work" by Cal NewportNotifications ding, beep, and buzz for our attention every minute. Author and professor Cal Newport knows this. He just doesn't think our work has to suffer as a result.In "Deep Work," Newport uses a collection of stories and research data to show that what will matter most in the coming decades — at least in terms of people's productivity — is the ability to focus.Newport calls this ability "deep work."The reader learns various strategies to avoid checking their phone every 30 seconds and instead cultivate a distraction-proof bubble in which they can work.Read More →