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amjammi's review against another edition
3.0
Nice contextualization of big ideas, but the main arguments seem to be based on a personal experience.
mvtesta34's review against another edition
3.0
Some good criticism of the tech monopolists in the first half, but a bit scattershot in the second.
ddejong's review against another edition
4.0
“The tech companies are destroying something precious, which is the possibility of contemplation. They have created a world in which we’re constantly watched and always distracted. Through their accumulation of data, they have constructed a portrait of our minds, which they use to invisibly guide mass behavior (and increasingly individual behavior) to further financial interests. They have eroded the integrity of institutions—media, publishing—that supply the intellectual material that provokes thought and guides democracy. Their most precious asset is our most precious asset, our attention, and they have abused it.”
Really enjoyed this book and felt like it gave me a better holistic understanding of the history behind big tech as well as of the specific devastating impacts it has had on key aspects of culture, discourse, writing, and thought. Foer’s language feels a bit sensational at times but his writing felt like it was at an appropriate decibel for someone trying to be the canary in the coal mine for a population that is largely asleep to the deep, systemic issues he’s writing about. I really enjoyed the discursive “mini-histories” along the way (eg about the ethos of the 60s and how it gave birth to big tech, of writing and reading and journalism, of algorithms, of ad space etc). The final part of the book that was supposed to be a “call to action” felt anemic to me compared to how robust the rest of the book is. And perhaps that makes sense because there are no easy answers to the place we find ourselves— but I think Foer could have put in more work there. Regardless, I appreciated what I learned from this book and the way it has challenged me to continue considering my own relationship with technology and thinking critically about the companies that are the major players in this industry (and our world, frankly).
Really enjoyed this book and felt like it gave me a better holistic understanding of the history behind big tech as well as of the specific devastating impacts it has had on key aspects of culture, discourse, writing, and thought. Foer’s language feels a bit sensational at times but his writing felt like it was at an appropriate decibel for someone trying to be the canary in the coal mine for a population that is largely asleep to the deep, systemic issues he’s writing about. I really enjoyed the discursive “mini-histories” along the way (eg about the ethos of the 60s and how it gave birth to big tech, of writing and reading and journalism, of algorithms, of ad space etc). The final part of the book that was supposed to be a “call to action” felt anemic to me compared to how robust the rest of the book is. And perhaps that makes sense because there are no easy answers to the place we find ourselves— but I think Foer could have put in more work there. Regardless, I appreciated what I learned from this book and the way it has challenged me to continue considering my own relationship with technology and thinking critically about the companies that are the major players in this industry (and our world, frankly).
nickjagged's review against another edition
Absolutely defies any momentary impression of cohesion. Frames fairly obvious criticisms of tech giants as far more complex in order to, I guess provide some semblance of substance? Not worth finishing.
bxlbooks91's review against another edition
3.0
Underwhelming. Very good prologue, but afterwards it was a bit too sour/negative for my taste. I also already knew too much about the topic to be surprised by the revelations.
3*
3*
cook_memorial_public_library's review against another edition
4.0
A 2017 staff favorite recommended by Rob. Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Sworld%20without%20mind%20foer__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
anitaofplaybooktag's review against another edition
4.0
While I confess that I didn't agree with much of this book, I found it to be fascinating.
Foer basically argues that companies that are dominating data collection (namely Facebook, Google, and Amazon) are monopolies because they are able to use that data to (unfairly) compete. He is critical of the fact that government has allowed these monopolies to evolve and that consumers are making a bargain with the devil, trading off freedom for efficiency.
What he fails to do, to my satisfaction, is indicate what we should do about it. He seems to have some vague ideas about the government's ability to protect privacy and that if the upper echelons of society would all just elevate reading on paper (newspapers, magazines, books) to the level it deserves, it would somehow permeate the rest of society. He has a lot more faith in the political machine than I do.
Personally, it seems to me that the horse is out of the barn, and there's going to be no reining it in. Foer seems to imply that no company will ever compete with the Google, Facebook, and Amazon triad because only they have the computing power necessary to crunch all the data, and they are the only ones who have collected all the data to crunch. While right now, the latter may be true, I am pretty sure computing power will continue to get cheaper and more accessible. Perhaps companies will form data conglomerates to pool their data for better leverage. I believe a lot of this data is already available for sale, so not sure it's as proprietary as Foer implies.
However, I loved the way Foer makes his case. The book is filled with passages that make you think and interwoven with historical comparisons that provide context. He strikes me as pretty biased in his thought process (the guy was an editor), but if you take it as a long opinion piece, it's a good read.
Foer basically argues that companies that are dominating data collection (namely Facebook, Google, and Amazon) are monopolies because they are able to use that data to (unfairly) compete. He is critical of the fact that government has allowed these monopolies to evolve and that consumers are making a bargain with the devil, trading off freedom for efficiency.
What he fails to do, to my satisfaction, is indicate what we should do about it. He seems to have some vague ideas about the government's ability to protect privacy and that if the upper echelons of society would all just elevate reading on paper (newspapers, magazines, books) to the level it deserves, it would somehow permeate the rest of society. He has a lot more faith in the political machine than I do.
Personally, it seems to me that the horse is out of the barn, and there's going to be no reining it in. Foer seems to imply that no company will ever compete with the Google, Facebook, and Amazon triad because only they have the computing power necessary to crunch all the data, and they are the only ones who have collected all the data to crunch. While right now, the latter may be true, I am pretty sure computing power will continue to get cheaper and more accessible. Perhaps companies will form data conglomerates to pool their data for better leverage. I believe a lot of this data is already available for sale, so not sure it's as proprietary as Foer implies.
However, I loved the way Foer makes his case. The book is filled with passages that make you think and interwoven with historical comparisons that provide context. He strikes me as pretty biased in his thought process (the guy was an editor), but if you take it as a long opinion piece, it's a good read.