A review by bristlecone
How to Disappear: Notes on Invisibility in a Time of Transparency by Akiko Busch

3.0

This book is interesting, but not what I expected given the title and description. This is really a collection of essays about self identity, ego, and experience. The author explores some interesting ideas, experiences, and technology and provides interesting musing about their meanings. Much like the thesis of this book ---what is unseen matters --- what is unseen and unexplored by the author also matters. The author explores very limited dimensions of each of the topics engaged in an effort to draw the reader in to the author's vividly described thoughts. But for all the considerations of what is unseen in this book, the author misses a lot. For example, when describing alternate reality technology, the author discusses the possibility of people walking around with alternate reality glasses on that replace structures and walls with open space, providing a sense of well being to the wearers The author discusses the potential misuses of such technology but ignores all of the "unseen" reasons why such technology induced well being is in such demand --- making something invisible isn't solving the larger issue.

This book seems to be an attempt at something similar to Rebecca Solnit's Field Guide to Getting Lost, but I felt it was just less coherent and insightful. But it is filled with peaks at interesting technology and beautifully written descriptions of interesting ideas. It's not what I expected, but still worth a read.