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jasoncasey's review against another edition
4.0
Great read about where technology has taken us, how it changes, and where it might be taking us. Written by one of the pioneers of virtual reality.
Quote from the book:
"That is why I feel the need to point out the most obvious overall aspect of digital culture: it is comprised of wave after wave of juvenilia. On any given day, one might hear of tens or hundreds of millions of dollars flowing to a start-up company named Ublibudly or MeTickly. These are names I just made up, but they would make great venture capital bait if they existed. at these companies one finds rooms full of MIT PhD engineers not seeking cancer cures or sources of safe drinking water for the underdeveloped world but schemes to send little digital pictures of teddy bears and dragons between adult members of social networks. At the end of the road of the pursuit of technological sophistication appears to lie a playhouse in which humankind regresses to nursery school."
Quote from the book:
"That is why I feel the need to point out the most obvious overall aspect of digital culture: it is comprised of wave after wave of juvenilia. On any given day, one might hear of tens or hundreds of millions of dollars flowing to a start-up company named Ublibudly or MeTickly. These are names I just made up, but they would make great venture capital bait if they existed. at these companies one finds rooms full of MIT PhD engineers not seeking cancer cures or sources of safe drinking water for the underdeveloped world but schemes to send little digital pictures of teddy bears and dragons between adult members of social networks. At the end of the road of the pursuit of technological sophistication appears to lie a playhouse in which humankind regresses to nursery school."
s_o_n_n_i_e's review against another edition
4.0
It's kinda funny how this book predicted what is now happening in the online world.
moviebuffkt's review against another edition
2.0
it was too dry for me. but compelling ideas of the muddiness of "self" in the age of online profiles and defining yourself to your "friends" by answering the same 5 questions about yourself online.
kidclamp's review against another edition
3.0
I don't really know enough about the philosophy of the singularity to know if Lanier is overreacting or not, but I think he is a bit. Overall I enjoyed this book and it gave me a lot to think about, but Lanier's style was nearly unreadable. He actually breaks things down into fairly simple concepts, but explains them in such convoluted language that it's hard to struggle through.
zedangeo's review against another edition
3.0
Lanier presents an interesting alternative way of interacting with technology, one that values people and people's creativity over the power of machines. I enjoyed reading his ideas and learning more about the development of the internet, but the book was not life-changing.
ceelabee's review against another edition
4.0
This was really interesting though a lot of the technical stuff was too advanced for me. When a dreadlocked, computer pioneer sounds like an old curmudgeon, you know things have gotten bad. I so appreciated his disdain for facebook and the book validated many of the feelings I have had about web 2.0, though maybe we're both just old.
davemmett's review against another edition
4.0
Even though I disagree with many of the conclusions of this book, I think its a very worthwhile read for anyone interested in thinking about how technology has (and will) shaped our world.
His argument is basically that current technological trends de-humanize people by encouraging us to behave in ways that conform to the systems we create.
I think his most interesting comments came from the parts about technology's influence on culture. He suggests that the reason why our society is so retro/vintage obsessed right now is that technology has weakened our ability to generate new culturally significant works; all we have left to do is rehash old ideas. I think there's a grain of truth to that, but I think it only applies if you take a very narrow view of culture (he mainly discusses music).
His argument is basically that current technological trends de-humanize people by encouraging us to behave in ways that conform to the systems we create.
I think his most interesting comments came from the parts about technology's influence on culture. He suggests that the reason why our society is so retro/vintage obsessed right now is that technology has weakened our ability to generate new culturally significant works; all we have left to do is rehash old ideas. I think there's a grain of truth to that, but I think it only applies if you take a very narrow view of culture (he mainly discusses music).
paladintodd's review against another edition
2.0
Well over my head. Gave up just a couple chapters in.
iamleeg's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a great manifesto for self-expression and individuality in the Internet era. Fully recommended.