if only

if only i could have read this about a year ago then i wouldn't have had to struggle with defining my thesis nicely into one sentence or less...argh:

"He devotes attention to the specificity of each dead medium, and the way they've retrospectively been synthesized into a linear, progressive historical narrative. This might give "necronauts" useful examples, and a vocabulary for thinking about the ways in which "dead" innovations serve as unique explorations into possibility, while contributing to the overall advance we see."

btw...what is a "necronaut"?