Bell Labs was the birthplace of so many world changing ideas that it is hard to count them all. The transistor, data networking, cellular technology, solar cells, the laser, and communications satellites just to name a few. The guys at Bell Labs focused on broader research and bigger problems, such as creating a world wide communications system. And they truly changed the world.

Jon Gertner has written The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation to track and analyze this amazing story. It can become techie at times, delving into the mysteries of science that can confuse those of us who barely understand how to use the television remote. But it does not linger there long, allowing the reader to recognize the sheer brilliance of the Bell innovators by framing the context of the complex scientific challenges.

I’m not a technician or an engineer, but I do wish more of the modern tech types would read this book. It looks at a bygone era when research was done for the purpose of furthering the common good, not just for profits. We can learn from that.

As one person is quoted as saying in the book, “Today the language that describes innovation often fails to distinguish between an innovate consumer product and an innovation that represents a leap in human knowledge.” In other words, we are setting our goals too low.

If you live in or near Silicon Valley, as I do, you should read this book.