Reading a review of Mark Miodownik‘s new book, [amazon_link id=”0670920541″ target=”_blank” ]Stuff Matters[/amazon_link], brought to mind my own first (1996) book [amazon_link id=”1900961113″ target=”_blank” ]The Weightless World[/amazon_link] (or as a free pdf). It looked at the way technology was changing the structure of the economy and society, and used the idea of dematerialisation as a link – the economy becoming increasingly intangible, manufactures becoming smaller and lighter, value inhering in the design and service etc, rather than the stuff.

[amazon_image id=”1900961113″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]The Weightless World: Thriving in the Age of Insecurity[/amazon_image]

So I was very struck by the aerogels, graphene and other innovations highlighted in the book. Is even stuff becoming weightless now?

[amazon_image id=”0670920541″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Stuff Matters: The Strange Stories of the Marvellous Materials that Shape Our Man-made World[/amazon_image]