One of my favorite design authors is Marty Neumeier. I first became aware of his work in the 1990s when he was editor and publisher of Critique magazine, a journal dedicated to design thinking. Years later, he published a book called Zag, which, as I recall, is the only book I’ve ever read twice. (Of course, my writer would find it hard to believe that I read it even once.) Neumeier also wrote The Designful Company and The Brand Gap.

A trip to Portland provided an opportunity to hear the author talk about his latest book, Metaskills: Five Talents for the Robotic Age, which my writer would also find hard to believe—let alone that I’ve ever set foot inside Powell’s Books.

“At seven billion strong,” writes Neumeier in Metaskills, “we’re now the most populous mammals on the planet with the possible exception of rats. And since the rats aren’t likely to be game changers, it’s up to us. We’re the ones that will make or break the future.”