Acknowledgments

A major point in this book is that we need others to succeed, and in that sense I have been luckier than most. Nearly all of the work in this book was done in close collaboration with a number of people who have inspired me and profoundly shaped my thinking.

The genesis of this book actually began when I joined Sandy Pentland’s group at the MIT Media Lab. Since then, Sandy has been a tremendous advisor and mentor. Not only did he have a tremendous impact on me intellectually, but the opportunities that he helped create have also been life changing.

It was also in Sandy’s group where I was paired up with Taemie Kim and Daniel Olguin. Together with Sandy, we collaborated on most of the experiments I discuss in this book. It was through our collaboration and friendship that we were able to push the boundaries of science and sensing during our time at MIT and beyond.

Other people at MIT were also huge influences, and I can’t possibly thank them all. Still, I wanted to give a shout out to some people in particular: Nadav Aharony, Anmol Madan, Wen Dong, Ankur Mani, Wei Pan, Coco Krumme, Akshay Mohan, Riley Crane, Manuel Cebrian, Yves-Alexandre de Montjoye, Joost Bonsen, Lanthe Chronis, Miki Hayakawa, Koji Ara, Yasuhiro Ono, Juan Carlos Barahona, Nathan Davis, Margaret Ding, Inna Lobel, Laura Freeman, Alex Speltz, Lynn Wu, Erik Brynjolfsson, Nicole Freedman, Hiroshi Ishii, Mirei Rioux, Lily Fu, Joe Paradiso, Josh Lifton, Cesar Hidalgo, Marta Gonzalez, Amy Sun, and Everett.

My collaborators from other institutions have also been a pleasure to work with: Sinan Aral, Kazuo Yano, Norihiko Moriwaki, Daniel Oster, Peter Gloor, David Lazer, Leon Danon, Ellen Pollock, Kate Ehrlich, and Tuomas Jaanu.

My time in Japan was also transformational for me, and for that I have to thank the Kitabatakes and KCJS for giving me a new perspective on life and for creating a second home on the other side of the world.

Outside of academia, it’s been amazing to work with the entire Sociometric family (the “badgers”). I can’t wait to see what else we create together.

Big thanks go to my cousin, Geoff Livingston, for connecting me with Katherine Bull and eventually to Jeanne Glasser Levine, who’s been an absolute pleasure to work with on this book. Additional thanks to all the people at Pearson, particularly Lori Lyons, Russ Hall, Megan Graue, and Paula Lowell. When I look back at how much you helped shape this book, I’m again reminded of how much we need others, and how we can create great things when we work with great people.

Finally, I want to thank my family: my parents, who put up with me when I was being obnoxious (always); my brother Andrew and his fiancé Ressa, who did the same; and my grandparents and extended family, who provided a stable grounding for me and always kept me focused on what really mattered.

To my wife Becca, my son Josh, and Rufus: Nothing makes me happier than to spend my time with you. Everything I’ve done, everything I will do, is because of you guys. I’m so lucky to have a family that likes to goof off as much as we do, debate as much as we do, and still speak so respectfully to each other. ;-)