Scan barcode
yates9's review
3.0
I like the writing style but found the book inconsistent with its treatment of future. Clearly a vast challenging subject but the author chooses to look at it from a limited set of views without fully explaining any one in particular.
Overall I think the problem is the format, its impossible to address a subject as vast in a small booklet.
Overall I think the problem is the format, its impossible to address a subject as vast in a small booklet.
sbenzell's review against another edition
2.0
lol it's not long at least
chapter 1: differences between 'future predicting and future making' -- [Seth: this is boring and pedantic, but hes laying a groundwork]
chapter 2 - 'Origin of consciousness in the breakdown of the bicameral mind' [Seth: yeah I've been meaning to read that book (after reading some much better summaries, such as Scott Alexander's) -- the connection to 'future orientation' seems a bit weak though and under-theorized]
chapter 3 - utopias and distopias [Seth: yay he's reminding me of lots of books I've liked without adding new insights; some weird choices of which to focus on though -- and completely shits on Bellamy's book despite that being the obviously most successful one? Now I want to read that book btw]
chapter 4 - Futurama [Seth: lovingly described, very clear he should have just written an article about how much he loves worlds fair stuff -- no real insights but plenty of fun anecdotes]
chapter 5-6 a worse version of "dream machine"
chapter 7: stuff that reminds of the phrase 'mirror, darkly' [Seth: Yes ofc 'A Scanner Darkly' and 'Black Mirror' are great, but you completely miss their points. and saying a random corning ad was more effective than Bellamy's book????]
chapter 8: conclusions [Seth: Vapid platitudes]
anyway saved you the 4 hours
chapter 1: differences between 'future predicting and future making' -- [Seth: this is boring and pedantic, but hes laying a groundwork]
chapter 2 - 'Origin of consciousness in the breakdown of the bicameral mind' [Seth: yeah I've been meaning to read that book (after reading some much better summaries, such as Scott Alexander's) -- the connection to 'future orientation' seems a bit weak though and under-theorized]
chapter 3 - utopias and distopias [Seth: yay he's reminding me of lots of books I've liked without adding new insights; some weird choices of which to focus on though -- and completely shits on Bellamy's book despite that being the obviously most successful one? Now I want to read that book btw]
chapter 4 - Futurama [Seth: lovingly described, very clear he should have just written an article about how much he loves worlds fair stuff -- no real insights but plenty of fun anecdotes]
chapter 5-6 a worse version of "dream machine"
chapter 7: stuff that reminds of the phrase 'mirror, darkly' [Seth: Yes ofc 'A Scanner Darkly' and 'Black Mirror' are great, but you completely miss their points. and saying a random corning ad was more effective than Bellamy's book????]
chapter 8: conclusions [Seth: Vapid platitudes]
anyway saved you the 4 hours
adamsw216's review
3.0
While this book presented some very fascinating examples and analyses of how we imagine and create the future, it gets too bogged down in the specifics about two-thirds of the way through. At times, the stories behind the examples themselves meandered and I wondered what the point was until Montfort suddenly relates the story back to the overarching themes in a final sweep of the last pages of a chapter. That being said, the overall message of the book is an optimistic one, and it explores some themes and ideas that are incredibly interesting. I would love to find a book that expands on these ideas some more and focuses on elements like the first few chapters of this book--broader in scope and clearer in message.
More...