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A review by julcoh
Stranger Than We Can Imagine: Making Sense of the Twentieth Century by John Higgs
3.0
The second of Higgs’ books I’ve read, following KLF. The two deal with similar themes— where KLF dives into the specifics of that band and confluence of factors which propelled them to fame, and uses that to theorize broadly on the twentieth century as a liminal period in history, Stranger Than We Can Imagine takes a broader but perhaps shallower approach to the general question.
Higgs really goes for it here, weaving a tale of the twentieth century centered on its lack of a center. He describes the past century’s revelations in science, art, philosophy, religion, and culture as inherently connected by the loss of a central intersubjective meaning (an “omphalos”), leading to the emergence of necessarily relative viewpoints and embrace of individualism. The final section on “Network” is the denouement both of the book and of the twentieth century— the interconnectedness of the internet age having fundamentally altered how we relate to each other individually, to ourselves, and to the global society at large.
I found it fascinating, but less revelatory and enjoyable than KLF... although as this book is a historical analysis and KLF is more of a biographical story expanded to history and culture, maybe that’s to be expected.
Higgs really goes for it here, weaving a tale of the twentieth century centered on its lack of a center. He describes the past century’s revelations in science, art, philosophy, religion, and culture as inherently connected by the loss of a central intersubjective meaning (an “omphalos”), leading to the emergence of necessarily relative viewpoints and embrace of individualism. The final section on “Network” is the denouement both of the book and of the twentieth century— the interconnectedness of the internet age having fundamentally altered how we relate to each other individually, to ourselves, and to the global society at large.
I found it fascinating, but less revelatory and enjoyable than KLF... although as this book is a historical analysis and KLF is more of a biographical story expanded to history and culture, maybe that’s to be expected.