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28 reviews for:
To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism
Evgeny Morozov
3.81 AVERAGE
28 reviews for:
To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism
Evgeny Morozov
3.81 AVERAGE
laurenlaskowski's review
2.0
As guilty of demonizing "the Internet" (i.e., gamification, self-quantification, autonomous search, etc.) as those he criticizes are of worshiping it. Mostly just frustrating to read, as I kept feeling sure he didn't really believe what he had written (because he seems like a smart guy, and his arguments were weak). Some important issues to consider, but there are probably better books out there on the topic.
brianreumere's review
4.0
Kinda felt like it could have been shorter in parts and more thorough or clear in its takedowns (and less assuming of the reader's agreement) of the various incarnations of solutionism and internet-centrism. Still timely and pretty solid though.
garrett_amini's review
1.0
Ugh. I picked up this book hoping to read about the folly of technological solutionism - what I got was a snide treatise on the follies of technological solutionists.
The book scarcely goes a page without calling out a particular name in the current app-y noosphere, and essentially reads like the memoir of a grumpy old man telling kids why they're all dumb.
If you follow the cults of personality surrounding individuals in the Silicon Valley elite, this book will trample on your heroes and tell you why they're probably wrong - and does so quite compellingly. If, like me, you aren't in Silicon Valley, nor do you worship Seth Godin, you will find this book completely irrelevant, and inappropriately titled, to boot.
The book scarcely goes a page without calling out a particular name in the current app-y noosphere, and essentially reads like the memoir of a grumpy old man telling kids why they're all dumb.
If you follow the cults of personality surrounding individuals in the Silicon Valley elite, this book will trample on your heroes and tell you why they're probably wrong - and does so quite compellingly. If, like me, you aren't in Silicon Valley, nor do you worship Seth Godin, you will find this book completely irrelevant, and inappropriately titled, to boot.
mtbottle's review
3.0
The main thesis of this book is that the Internet-centric solutionism needs to be critically evaluated. As someone who work in tech, this particularly resonates. Initially I found the book irritatingly un-actionable; criticisms are useful, but several chapters of this without identifying a solution makes the book seem a bit whiny (yes, I also see the irony here). Morozov ultimately does get to the point: we need to evaluate the civic and moral aspect of our social solutions (rather than just introduce the "tech" as the solution itself), and I thought it was a worthy conclusion to trudge through all the cynicism.
ginny_q16's review
2.0
toooooooo many examples god, i think i skipped something like half of the book
squeenie53's review
2.0
I wanted and expected to love this book. Unfortunately, Morozov seems to have an axe to grind, and he's using it to split hairs.
He hates the absolutist notion that the Internet can make everything better. Fine. But he basically does the same thing in reverse, evaluating experiments in social reform not on their merits, but on how much they carry the taint of "Internet solutionism".
Or he'll say (and I'm paraphrasing), "Internet-centrists say Apple is bad because it's not open. But open isn't necessarily better." Or maybe it is, but we'll never know because he doesn't take the argument further.
Still, his core point -- that the Internet is not as revolutionary as it would seem, and that we should be skeptical of revolutionary rhetoric that encourages radical interventions into our lives with unforeseen (negative) consequences -- is a valid one.
He hates the absolutist notion that the Internet can make everything better. Fine. But he basically does the same thing in reverse, evaluating experiments in social reform not on their merits, but on how much they carry the taint of "Internet solutionism".
Or he'll say (and I'm paraphrasing), "Internet-centrists say Apple is bad because it's not open. But open isn't necessarily better." Or maybe it is, but we'll never know because he doesn't take the argument further.
Still, his core point -- that the Internet is not as revolutionary as it would seem, and that we should be skeptical of revolutionary rhetoric that encourages radical interventions into our lives with unforeseen (negative) consequences -- is a valid one.
nzagalo's review
5.0
A powerful and highly necessary reflection on the politics of technology. Morozov ability to synthesise current discourses around technology and more specifically “the internet” is simply brilliant.
I was impressed by the depth but also by the range of domains touched throughout the discussion - Openness, Neutrality, Big Data, Quantification, Gamification, Self-augmentation, Algorithmic ruling, Philosophy vs. Psychology, etc. Morozov is an avid observer and thinker, he’s someone interested in understanding in depth the intricacies of the interconnected world.
This is no luddite manifesto, this is an appeal to reflection about the world we’re creating. An appeal to take control of the world we live in, instead of being controlled but the so called inevitabilities of the technological progress.
I’ll dive in depth on the immense subjects touched in the book in my blog soon.
Análise em português: http://virtual-illusion.blogspot.pt/2014/03/to-save-everything-click-here-folly-of.html
I was impressed by the depth but also by the range of domains touched throughout the discussion - Openness, Neutrality, Big Data, Quantification, Gamification, Self-augmentation, Algorithmic ruling, Philosophy vs. Psychology, etc. Morozov is an avid observer and thinker, he’s someone interested in understanding in depth the intricacies of the interconnected world.
This is no luddite manifesto, this is an appeal to reflection about the world we’re creating. An appeal to take control of the world we live in, instead of being controlled but the so called inevitabilities of the technological progress.
I’ll dive in depth on the immense subjects touched in the book in my blog soon.
Análise em português: http://virtual-illusion.blogspot.pt/2014/03/to-save-everything-click-here-folly-of.html