This MIT Professor Thinks Tech Is Looking in the Wrong Place
Automated Podcast 41:11
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MIT professor Yoel Fink thinks the future of technology may not be another screen, headset, or watch.
It may be the fabric we already wear.
In this episode of Automated, Brian Heater speaks with Yoel Fink, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT, about education, invention, advanced fibers, and why breakthrough ideas often begin with a better question.
Yoel reflects on his unconventional path from military service and backpacking to MIT, and explains why he believes students should have more room to step off the track, see the world, and mature before being pushed through the next expected milestone.
Brian and Yoel also discuss the role professors can play as mentors, why parents are not always the right messenger, and why college does not have to feel like a race against an imaginary clock.
The conversation then turns to research and innovation. Yoel shares the story of asking one simple question in a room full of experts, a question that helped lead to a new kind of mirror and changed the course of his career.
They also explore why fibers may be one of the most overlooked technologies in the world. Yoel argues that instead of building more watches, glasses, headsets, and metal devices, we should look at what humans have already chosen to put on their bodies for thousands of years: fabric.
If you are interested in innovation, education, material science, or the future of computing beyond screens and wearables, this is a conversation worth watching.
KEY MOMENTS
(00:00) Why the best questions hide in plain sight
(01:39) Brian introduces Yoel Fink
(02:25) Yoel’s backpacking years before school
(03:02) Why students should step off the track
(05:14) Why college is not a race
(08:31) The role professors can play for students
(08:41) Why parents are not always the right messenger
(11:43) Why students cannot do everything well
(13:20) Helping students think beyond one narrow path
(16:01) How Yoel ended up studying physics
(19:07) What religious study taught him about discipline
(20:52) Why learning paths are rarely linear
(21:13) How Yoel found his way to MIT
(22:43) What MIT felt like without fences
(24:52) The DARPA program that changed his research path
(26:25) The simple question that led to a new mirror
(29:05) What stops people from asking better questions
(31:46) Why Yoel does not like the word “wearables”
(32:19) Why fibers are hiding in plain sight
(36:06) Teaching students to think differently
(36:34) Are tech companies out of ideas?
(38:10) Why people keep following the same lane
(40:34) Yoel’s perfect podcast exit
Connect with Yoel Fink
https://dmse.mit.edu/people/faculty/yoel-fink/
Learn more about fibers@mit
https://pbg-rle.mit.edu/
We’d love to hear from you.
Have thoughts or guest suggestions?
Reach us at podcast@automate.org
You can find the transcript and more episodes of Automated at automated.fm
Unlock full access to Automated and explore everything automation.
Subscribe today and leave a review on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Also subscribe to the Automated Newsletter.
https://www.youtube.com/@automatedpodcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/automated-with-brian-heater/id1837762221
https://open.spotify.com/show/60olq6brlBEIJWggx2fMR6
https://www.automate.org/automation/automated-newsletter
You can also find us on:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/automated-podcast-by-a3/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/automatedpod/
It may be the fabric we already wear.
In this episode of Automated, Brian Heater speaks with Yoel Fink, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT, about education, invention, advanced fibers, and why breakthrough ideas often begin with a better question.
Yoel reflects on his unconventional path from military service and backpacking to MIT, and explains why he believes students should have more room to step off the track, see the world, and mature before being pushed through the next expected milestone.
Brian and Yoel also discuss the role professors can play as mentors, why parents are not always the right messenger, and why college does not have to feel like a race against an imaginary clock.
The conversation then turns to research and innovation. Yoel shares the story of asking one simple question in a room full of experts, a question that helped lead to a new kind of mirror and changed the course of his career.
They also explore why fibers may be one of the most overlooked technologies in the world. Yoel argues that instead of building more watches, glasses, headsets, and metal devices, we should look at what humans have already chosen to put on their bodies for thousands of years: fabric.
If you are interested in innovation, education, material science, or the future of computing beyond screens and wearables, this is a conversation worth watching.
KEY MOMENTS
(00:00) Why the best questions hide in plain sight
(01:39) Brian introduces Yoel Fink
(02:25) Yoel’s backpacking years before school
(03:02) Why students should step off the track
(05:14) Why college is not a race
(08:31) The role professors can play for students
(08:41) Why parents are not always the right messenger
(11:43) Why students cannot do everything well
(13:20) Helping students think beyond one narrow path
(16:01) How Yoel ended up studying physics
(19:07) What religious study taught him about discipline
(20:52) Why learning paths are rarely linear
(21:13) How Yoel found his way to MIT
(22:43) What MIT felt like without fences
(24:52) The DARPA program that changed his research path
(26:25) The simple question that led to a new mirror
(29:05) What stops people from asking better questions
(31:46) Why Yoel does not like the word “wearables”
(32:19) Why fibers are hiding in plain sight
(36:06) Teaching students to think differently
(36:34) Are tech companies out of ideas?
(38:10) Why people keep following the same lane
(40:34) Yoel’s perfect podcast exit
Connect with Yoel Fink
https://dmse.mit.edu/people/faculty/yoel-fink/
Learn more about fibers@mit
https://pbg-rle.mit.edu/
We’d love to hear from you.
Have thoughts or guest suggestions?
Reach us at podcast@automate.org
You can find the transcript and more episodes of Automated at automated.fm
Unlock full access to Automated and explore everything automation.
Subscribe today and leave a review on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Also subscribe to the Automated Newsletter.
https://www.youtube.com/@automatedpodcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/automated-with-brian-heater/id1837762221
https://open.spotify.com/show/60olq6brlBEIJWggx2fMR6
https://www.automate.org/automation/automated-newsletter
You can also find us on:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/automated-podcast-by-a3/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/automatedpod/
Category (YouTube): Science & Technology
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