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1.04k reviews for:
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
Neil Postman
4.03 AVERAGE
1.04k reviews for:
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
Neil Postman
4.03 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
At nearly 40 years old, this book is somehow successful in being both dated and still relevant in what it covers, if you ignore the line where Postman calls computers "overrated." This deep, ur-level dive into media and how it shaped human civilization still holds up, and can be overlayed to the breakneck advances in media since 1985. I'm definitely going to look into more of Postman's work and I would definitely recommend this as a read for the people of today.
Painfully prophetic, even so many years later. An interesting baseline framework to use when thinking about declining literacy declining attention spans etc
what afflicted the people was not that they were laughing instead of thinking, but that they did not know what they were laughing about and why they had stopped thinking.
informative
medium-paced
neil postman is glad he never had to see tiktok.
the information action ratio is both a v intriguing idea and a great chorus of an arctic monkeys song
the information action ratio is both a v intriguing idea and a great chorus of an arctic monkeys song
3.5 rounded up!
This book was very informative! It was a bit dry for me, though. I am left wondering what Mr. Postman would say today with social media.
This book was very informative! It was a bit dry for me, though. I am left wondering what Mr. Postman would say today with social media.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
It's a bit surreal to read this 40 years later, and compare it to today. Sometimes this leads to irony, other times a despondent feeling about our current reality.
The writing style is tough to get into. Feels like saying so much without saying anything at all. But when you can get into it, it feels like perhaps a deeper understanding of the topics.
The writing style is tough to get into. Feels like saying so much without saying anything at all. But when you can get into it, it feels like perhaps a deeper understanding of the topics.
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced