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A review by kayeofswords
Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age by Douglas Rushkoff
3.0
Douglas Rushkoff's Program or Be Programmed provides an excellent primer for understanding the human relationship to technology and the problems we face when converting our human experiences into a digital medium. Above all, Program or Be Programmed argues that each individual should work to remain level-headed and in control of his or her experience with technology --- and programming, of course, is offered as the penultimate goal for reclaiming digital responsibility.
Throughout the book, Rushkoff elaborates on ten key statements that he believes will help people take control of their relationship with technology:
1. Time: Do not always be on
2. Place: Live in person
3. Choice: You may always choose none of the above
4. Complexity: You are never completely right
5. Scale: One size does not fit all
6. Identity: Be yourself
7. Social: Do not sell your friends
8. Fact: Tell the truth
9. Openness: Share, don't steal
10. Purpose: Program or be programmed
While the statements seem simple, the real value of the book involves what Rushkoff says about each of these ten statements. The most useful section for anyone who has ever frequented Internet-based forums is #4, the rule that describes the dehumanization process that makes people behave deplorably and devalue the opinions of others, and the section most useful for those of us with Internet addictions is #1.
Rushkoff has so many quotable, usable, and brilliant passages in this book. I made 44 highlights and marks in the .mobi version I purchased, most of which are quite extensive passages. It is my opinion that everyone who cares about their relationship with technology and the preservation of their own humanity should read this book.
However, there is a reason why I only gave this book 3 stars despite having a glowing review thus far. Rushkoff's Judeo-Christian bias shows through in the comparisons he makes. The United States contains 78.4% Christians according to the most recent Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life Study, with 1.7% of Americans considering themselves Jewish, so I understand why he made certain assertions: Rushkoff wants to take some of his abstract statements and make them accessible to people at all levels who may have picked up this book. Despite this, Rushkoff's Wikipedia entry describes him as an "American media theorist, writer, columnist, lecturer, graphic novelist and documentarian." Please note that 'historian' is completely missing from this. His background is most heavily in new media.
Rushkoff tries to draw comparisons between the current revolution in communication and those of centuries/millennia past, such as the invention of writing and the printing press. While I can definitely agree when he states that the majority of people lag one level behind a technology (i.e., only a certain number can read the writing or have access to the means of literary production), his choices show a Judeo-Christian cultural bias that is very alienating for someone who does not share that background --- not to mention that he scraps historical uncertainty in the name of having an authoritative narrative.
Here is where Rushkoff shows his bias most: The alphabet did not lead to "accountability, abstract thinking, monotheism, and contractual law" (location 69-75). Rushkoff implies that the creation of the Torah caused some kind of unique shift to text-based societies when the Egyptians and Sumerians had had their hieroglyphics and cuneiform for millennia before the Torah first existed. While accountability and contractual law definitely become more concrete in cultures with writing systems, monotheism should not be held as a coveted cultural development any more than the creation of monopolies in capitalist societies should be praised by workers and consumers. Instead, our culture privileges the idea of a monolithic creation (which is, incidentally, one of the reasons why most people in America have trouble understanding the scientific method and/or what hypotheses and theories actually mean in the scientific community).
I think Rushkoff misses the mark in that how people use writing in a culture comes out of that culture's values. By relating it so extensively to how writing impacted Jewish and Christian thinking, he forgets that other cultures have different value systems that writing has supported and nourished. For a culture in which singular authority is valued, certainly it will lead to standardization; however, for more pluralistic societies such as those in Greece, Rome, or India, writing allowed for a better dissemination of ideas that anyone could challenge as long as they had an argument that made sense and was in good taste (and I assume this is still the case in India today). It would have been easier had he chosen more generic, culturally neutral comparisons.
So, again, 3 stars out of 5, but you should definitely read it. Program or Be Programmed is available in print or ebook (the latter only from the OR Books web site, I believe).
Throughout the book, Rushkoff elaborates on ten key statements that he believes will help people take control of their relationship with technology:
1. Time: Do not always be on
2. Place: Live in person
3. Choice: You may always choose none of the above
4. Complexity: You are never completely right
5. Scale: One size does not fit all
6. Identity: Be yourself
7. Social: Do not sell your friends
8. Fact: Tell the truth
9. Openness: Share, don't steal
10. Purpose: Program or be programmed
While the statements seem simple, the real value of the book involves what Rushkoff says about each of these ten statements. The most useful section for anyone who has ever frequented Internet-based forums is #4, the rule that describes the dehumanization process that makes people behave deplorably and devalue the opinions of others, and the section most useful for those of us with Internet addictions is #1.
Rushkoff has so many quotable, usable, and brilliant passages in this book. I made 44 highlights and marks in the .mobi version I purchased, most of which are quite extensive passages. It is my opinion that everyone who cares about their relationship with technology and the preservation of their own humanity should read this book.
However, there is a reason why I only gave this book 3 stars despite having a glowing review thus far. Rushkoff's Judeo-Christian bias shows through in the comparisons he makes. The United States contains 78.4% Christians according to the most recent Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life Study, with 1.7% of Americans considering themselves Jewish, so I understand why he made certain assertions: Rushkoff wants to take some of his abstract statements and make them accessible to people at all levels who may have picked up this book. Despite this, Rushkoff's Wikipedia entry describes him as an "American media theorist, writer, columnist, lecturer, graphic novelist and documentarian." Please note that 'historian' is completely missing from this. His background is most heavily in new media.
Rushkoff tries to draw comparisons between the current revolution in communication and those of centuries/millennia past, such as the invention of writing and the printing press. While I can definitely agree when he states that the majority of people lag one level behind a technology (i.e., only a certain number can read the writing or have access to the means of literary production), his choices show a Judeo-Christian cultural bias that is very alienating for someone who does not share that background --- not to mention that he scraps historical uncertainty in the name of having an authoritative narrative.
Here is where Rushkoff shows his bias most: The alphabet did not lead to "accountability, abstract thinking, monotheism, and contractual law" (location 69-75). Rushkoff implies that the creation of the Torah caused some kind of unique shift to text-based societies when the Egyptians and Sumerians had had their hieroglyphics and cuneiform for millennia before the Torah first existed. While accountability and contractual law definitely become more concrete in cultures with writing systems, monotheism should not be held as a coveted cultural development any more than the creation of monopolies in capitalist societies should be praised by workers and consumers. Instead, our culture privileges the idea of a monolithic creation (which is, incidentally, one of the reasons why most people in America have trouble understanding the scientific method and/or what hypotheses and theories actually mean in the scientific community).
I think Rushkoff misses the mark in that how people use writing in a culture comes out of that culture's values. By relating it so extensively to how writing impacted Jewish and Christian thinking, he forgets that other cultures have different value systems that writing has supported and nourished. For a culture in which singular authority is valued, certainly it will lead to standardization; however, for more pluralistic societies such as those in Greece, Rome, or India, writing allowed for a better dissemination of ideas that anyone could challenge as long as they had an argument that made sense and was in good taste (and I assume this is still the case in India today). It would have been easier had he chosen more generic, culturally neutral comparisons.
So, again, 3 stars out of 5, but you should definitely read it. Program or Be Programmed is available in print or ebook (the latter only from the OR Books web site, I believe).