A review by foxmoon
Non-things: Upheaval in the Lifeworld by Byung-Chul Han
5.0
A criticism of our digital world but one made so out of love for humanity. We are so imbued with non-things that we are losing our touch with things and therefore losing touch with others and therefore losing touch with ourselves. I get it.
I also get why reviewers might interpret it as "old man yells at cloud" and "things were better in the olden days" because yes, it is that, but so what? Maybe the "old man" is right. It reads a little bit like "I like this, so it is a thing, and I don't like that so it is a non-thing" and it's such a short book that some bold statements and assertions rely on you just going with them—but I did. I picked up everything he put down. And it ignited my soul, if I'm being honest.
I kind of aspire to be austere when it comes to owning things, I think mostly everything I could want is available digitally, and everything else that's not utilitarian is just clutter. But now I am thinking that sentimentality is good actually and maybe experiencing everything through a screen is not as great as I tend to assume it is.
I also get why reviewers might interpret it as "old man yells at cloud" and "things were better in the olden days" because yes, it is that, but so what? Maybe the "old man" is right. It reads a little bit like "I like this, so it is a thing, and I don't like that so it is a non-thing" and it's such a short book that some bold statements and assertions rely on you just going with them—but I did. I picked up everything he put down. And it ignited my soul, if I'm being honest.
I kind of aspire to be austere when it comes to owning things, I think mostly everything I could want is available digitally, and everything else that's not utilitarian is just clutter. But now I am thinking that sentimentality is good actually and maybe experiencing everything through a screen is not as great as I tend to assume it is.