Back to the Future Past – David Sax, Author of The Revenge of Analog Real Things and Why They Matter – Our Growing Cultural Desire for Analog Things of the Past

David Sax, author of The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter, provides a fascinating overview of the technology and how we yearn for the physical products of days recently gone by.

David's book considers the new analog revival. In a world of digital technology, people are now craving much of what we've been told was obsolete. In a sort of reverse revolution, more and more independent bookstores are popping up in spite of e-books' supposed decimation of all things 'print,' record stores with real vinyl are rebounding in spite of our downloadable empire of digital music, and people are even beginning to write actual letters again—on paper, believe it or not. The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter reveals the hidden truth of our society—that people like things.

David talks about his background and how an old turntable with real records intensified his interest in music, which got him thinking about technology, analog products, and our desire for the tangible things of the past. His curiosity about this stirred him to write his book, The Revenge of Analog. As David states, the world is physical, so it is only natural that we relate best to physical things that give us a deeper connection and appeal to all our senses. We love three dimensional, tangible items, and it should come as no surprise that we are yearning for the past in some ways.

The historical tech guru explains why our current technology is leaving us feeling less enthused. He talks about his own personal connection to modern technology and how he tries to limit his exposure somewhat, in an attempt to really connect to family and friends without the technological interruptions.

David discusses technology's rise to power in regard to its promise for making lives better, but as he states, technology is messy and is never really that Star Trek version we might have expected it could be. He says that our future is never really as we predict, and that skepticism of coming technologies is actually a smart behavior, that we should evaluate technology and understand how it works for us, and whether it is truly enhancing our lives in ways that are healthy and productive.

Lastly, David talks about his upcoming book that takes a hard look at entrepreneurship. He discusses the reasons why people become entrepreneurs and how their goals motivate them to build and create.