Steen Christiansen reviewed Present shock by Douglas Rushkoff
Review of 'Present shock' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
While here are interesting bits in here, most of it is too banal and lecturing.
296 pages
English language
Published March 26, 2013
3 stars
(9 reviews)
"An award-winning author explores how the world works in our age of "continuous now". Back in the 1970s, futurism was all the rage. But looking forward is becoming a thing of the past. According to Douglas Rushkoff, "presentism" is the new ethos of a society that's always on, in real time, updating live. Guided by neither history nor long term goals, we navigate a sea of media that blend the past and future into a mash-up of instantaneous experience. Rushkoff shows how this trend is both disorienting and exhilarating. Without linear narrative we get both the humiliations of reality TV and the associative brilliance of The Simpsons. With no time for long term investing, we invent dangerously compressed derivatives yet also revive sustainable local businesses. In politics, presentism drives both the Tea Party and the Occupy movement. In many ways, this was the goal of digital technology--outsourcing our memory was …
"An award-winning author explores how the world works in our age of "continuous now". Back in the 1970s, futurism was all the rage. But looking forward is becoming a thing of the past. According to Douglas Rushkoff, "presentism" is the new ethos of a society that's always on, in real time, updating live. Guided by neither history nor long term goals, we navigate a sea of media that blend the past and future into a mash-up of instantaneous experience. Rushkoff shows how this trend is both disorienting and exhilarating. Without linear narrative we get both the humiliations of reality TV and the associative brilliance of The Simpsons. With no time for long term investing, we invent dangerously compressed derivatives yet also revive sustainable local businesses. In politics, presentism drives both the Tea Party and the Occupy movement. In many ways, this was the goal of digital technology--outsourcing our memory was supposed to free us up to focus on the present. But we are in danger of squandering this cognitive surplus on trivia. Rushkoff shows how we can instead ground ourselves in the reality of the present tense. "--
"In the 1970s futurism was in. But looking forward has become a thing of the past. According to Rushkoff, "presentism" is the new ethos of a society that's always on, in real time, updating live. Rushkoff shows how this trend is both exhilarating and disorienting. This was the goal of technology--outsourcing our memory was supposed to free us up to focus on the present. But we are in danger of squandering this cognitive surplus on trivia. Rushkoff shows how we can instead ground ourselves in the reality of the present tense"--
Ben E P reviewed Present shock by Douglas Rushkoff
Review of 'Present shock' on 'GoodReads'
3 stars
I like Douglas Rushkoff. I was first introduced to his work through his Merchants of Cool documentary in a college classroom, picked up Life, Inc. and Program or Be Programmed, enjoyed listening to his WFMU show Media Squat, etc. I was excited to read Present Shock, expecting my own theories on the pace at which life is presented as moving these days, via media, to be reinforced. They were, and Rushkoff's insights went beyond my own armchair philosophizing to bring things to poignant conclusions in a few chapters.
That said, this may have been my least favorite of Rushkoff's writings. With so much ground to cover, Rushkoff is forced to relegate supporting evidence culled from his research to footnotes, and to retrace his steps, bringing arguments around to points he's made in earlier books. Ironically, this book about presentism, written over a number of years, feels almost rushed at points, …
I like Douglas Rushkoff. I was first introduced to his work through his Merchants of Cool documentary in a college classroom, picked up Life, Inc. and Program or Be Programmed, enjoyed listening to his WFMU show Media Squat, etc. I was excited to read Present Shock, expecting my own theories on the pace at which life is presented as moving these days, via media, to be reinforced. They were, and Rushkoff's insights went beyond my own armchair philosophizing to bring things to poignant conclusions in a few chapters.
That said, this may have been my least favorite of Rushkoff's writings. With so much ground to cover, Rushkoff is forced to relegate supporting evidence culled from his research to footnotes, and to retrace his steps, bringing arguments around to points he's made in earlier books. Ironically, this book about presentism, written over a number of years, feels almost rushed at points, and digresses into pages-long explanations of tangentially-related critical theory at others.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, and I plan on keeping tabs on Rushkoff's work in the future. But I will keep an eye out for other books on the subject of modern media's effect on culture since 2000 that may narrow their focus or expand their page count to include more information on relevant scholarly research.
For those who are interested in Rushkoff's writing and are looking for a place to start, I highly recommend Life, Inc.
YoursTrulee reviewed Present shock by Douglas Rushkoff
Review of 'Present shock' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
I couldn't finish it....that almost never happens. Just too many disjointed smart ideas mashed together. When i was 30, this would have been fine. Now I'm 42 and too tired.
TimmyMac reviewed Present shock by Douglas Rushkoff
Review of 'Present shock' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I'd give this 4.5 stars, if I could. Really keen and interesting interpretation of the modern "everything at once" world. Not just the usual diatribe against too many smartphones, but a much more nuanced and philosophical look at how technology is changing how we interact with reality, interpret randomness, and organize the story of everything. Really, really recommend it.
Subjects
- Social aspects
- Philosophy
- Technology