My life has been full of fortuitous twists and turns executed with little or no planning. Many of these have led to serendipitous meetings and experiences with amazing people who have changed the course of my thinking with just a conversation. And then there are the many, many friends and family members whose minds I have selfishly explored over many discussions and debates. It is to all these friends, colleagues, and passing acquaintances that I owe a big debt of gratitude for a lifelong evolution of my thinking.
Specifically, I’d like to thank Pradeep Kar for pulling me into the world of technology, and Satish Sukumar who is responsible for some of my earliest conceptual clarity about the Internet and technology.
Kannan R and Shefaly Yogendra deserve their share of blame for this book—it was that conversation of December 2015 that drove me to writing it. Madhu Jalan and Rachel Nolan took time to give me useful feedback, but many, many spared the time to read the book and share their thoughts. Pablo Conde designed the cover. All of you are very special.
To my parents, Kirit and Gopa Sen, and my sister Pragna, who would have been disappointed if I didn’t write a book. And to my wife, Karuna Kapoor who takes care of a million things, and inspires me to write.
And to my daughter Maya who is growing up in this digital world and who treats every miracle as mundane.