An original deep history of the internet that tells the story of the centuries-old utopian dreams behind it-and explains why they have died today
Many think of the internet as an unprecedented and overwhelmingly positive achievement of modern human technology. But is it? In The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is, Justin Smith offers an original deep history of the internet, from the ancient to the modern world-uncovering its surprising origins in nature and centuries-old dreams of radically improving human life by outsourcing thinking to machines and communicating across vast distances. Yet, despite the internet's continuing potential, Smith argues, the utopian hopes behind it have finally died today, killed by the harsh realities of social media, the global information economy, and the attention-destroying nature of networked technology.
Ranging over centuries of the history and philosophy of science and technology, Smith shows how the internet has been with us much longer than we usually think. He draws fascinating connections between internet user experience, artificial intelligence, the invention of the printing press, communication between trees, and the origins of computing in the machine-driven looms of the silk industry. At the same time, he reveals how the internet's organic structure and development root it in the natural world in unexpected ways that challenge efforts to draw an easy line between technology and nature.
Combining the sweep of intellectual history with the incisiveness of philosophy, The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is cuts through our daily digital lives to give a clear-sighted picture of what the internet is, where it came from, and where it might be taking us in the coming decades.
Title: The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is: A History, A Philosophy, A Warning
Author: Justin E. H. Smith
ISBN: 9780691212326
Binding:
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication Date: 2022-05-17
Number of Pages: 208
Weight: 0.3931 kg
Mr. Smith has given readers a fresh interpretation of the history of technology...and a keen sense that we don't always know what the internet is doing to us. ---Christine Rosen, Wall Street Journal
In a book that meditates upon networks, webs, and connections, Smith's astounding range becomes something of a method for revealing the interconnectedness of everything between stars and modems. ---Trevor Quirk, Bookforum
Smith wants to show that the internet is not new, it is just a refinement in the gossamer of perceptual probing that our species has woven into the world's fabric to make near the distant. This arresting thesis is aided by the excellent writing. . . . The book is mostly enchantment. ---Graham McAleer, Law & Liberty
One of the pleasures of Smith's philosophical tour is to note how frequently the implementation of ideas and their consequences jump domains. . . .One of the great achievements of Smith's book is to permit us to honor [Ada Lovelace's] legacy, ambition, and achievement. . . while buttressing a healthy and necessary skepticism toward the claims of tech transcendence and the uniqueness of our moment. ---Eric Banks, 4Columns
The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is begins as a negative critique of online life. . . . but the book's second half progresses into deeper philosophical inquiries. . . . [Smith] ends by recognizing that the interface of the Internet, and the keyboard that gives him access to it, is less an external device than an extension of his questing mind. ---Kyle Chayka, New Yorker
Thoughtful . . . . A worthy critique of a technology in need of rethinking-and human control that seeks to free and not enchain. * Kirkus Reviews *
Justin E.H. Smith examines the alarming problems of the Internet in its contemporary incarnation and insightfully explores some of the historical antecedents of this technology. ---Harvey Freedenberg, Shelf Awareness
While Smith addresses what is wrong with the web - especially compelling is his exploration of how it affects our attention and how it encourages us to trade our sense of self for an algorithmically plottable profile - he is also offering a big picture vision of this machine-assisted communication as an extension of all forms of communication in nature. * Sydney Morning Herald *
Smith draws on centuries' worth of philosophy to examine the pervasive reach of the internet in this enlightening survey. . . . a capable guide to why what's online is there, and how it came to be. * Publishers Weekly *
If you're feeling a vague sense of disquiet at the omnipresent and invasive nature of the internet, reading this book may make clear exactly what it is you dread. ---Peter Neville-Hadley, South China Morning Post Magazine