
Discover how six raw materials - sand, salt, iron, copper, oil, and lithium - invisibly shape our world. Named one of The Economist's "Best Books of 2023," Conway's eye-opening exploration has changed how industry leaders view civilization's physical foundations. What everyday item contains all six?
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Your morning coffee depends on a chain of materials most people never think about: aluminum mined in Australia, refined using Icelandic geothermal energy, shipped to China for manufacturing, then distributed globally. The ceramic mug required kaolin clay heated to 1,280C. The coffee itself relied on fertilizers made from natural gas. This invisible material foundation supports literally everything in modern life, yet we've become so disconnected from physical production that we barely notice it exists. We live in what feels like an ethereal economy of apps, services, and digital products, forgetting that every bit and byte requires massive physical infrastructure-data centers full of silicon chips, copper wiring spanning continents, and concrete foundations anchoring it all. This disconnection has real consequences: when COVID-19 disrupted supply chains, suddenly everyone wondered why we couldn't just "make more" computer chips or medical equipment, revealing our collective ignorance about how things actually get made.
Desglosa las ideas clave de Material World en puntos fáciles de entender para comprender cómo los equipos innovadores crean, colaboran y crecen.
Destila Material World en pistas de memoria rápidas que resaltan los principios clave de franqueza, trabajo en equipo y resiliencia creativa.

Experimenta Material World a través de narraciones vívidas que convierten las lecciones de innovación en momentos que recordarás y aplicarás.
Pregunta lo que quieras, elige la voz y co-crea ideas que realmente resuenen contigo.

Creado por exalumnos de la Universidad de Columbia en San Francisco
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Creado por exalumnos de la Universidad de Columbia en San Francisco

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