EMR reviewed Cyberselfish by Paulina Borsook
Review of 'Cyberselfish' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
The chapter on wired is laser focused, incisive, and still feels fresh. Shame that the rest fails to live up to that standard. It has a tendency to pick up an intriguing thread, examine it for a paragraph, then let it go without chasing it down. What could be a damning indictment reads like shallow implications.
At one point, in chapter 5 (page 227) Barsook casually drops and seems to endorse some good old fashoned eugenics. I can't help but wonder if she got too close to her subjects.
The 90s tech flavor is fun and the cultural criticism is mostly still relevant (the conference reviews are kinda irrelevant for example.) and I don't regret reading it, but it could have been a lot better.
One thing that the author tends to do is cite some acquaintance then not ask them any of the follow-up questions that would have made …
The chapter on wired is laser focused, incisive, and still feels fresh. Shame that the rest fails to live up to that standard. It has a tendency to pick up an intriguing thread, examine it for a paragraph, then let it go without chasing it down. What could be a damning indictment reads like shallow implications.
At one point, in chapter 5 (page 227) Barsook casually drops and seems to endorse some good old fashoned eugenics. I can't help but wonder if she got too close to her subjects.
The 90s tech flavor is fun and the cultural criticism is mostly still relevant (the conference reviews are kinda irrelevant for example.) and I don't regret reading it, but it could have been a lot better.
One thing that the author tends to do is cite some acquaintance then not ask them any of the follow-up questions that would have made the book interesting.