The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is: A History, a Philosophy, a Warning
- ISBN-10
- 0691212325
- ISBN-13
- 9780691212326
- Category
- Computers
- Pages
- 216
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2022-03-22
- Publisher
- Princeton University Press
- Author
- Justin E. H. Smith
Description
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.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2023-08-15
- 208 pages
- Paperback
- Princeton University Press
-
- 2022-03-22
- 216 pages
- Ebook
- Princeton University Press
Similar books
-
Family History Digital Libraries
By William Sims BainbridgeOne named Sara and Timberlake had 11 male workers, 1 female worker, and 4 children workers, so it might have employed the Minor family.
-
Foundation Dreamweaver MX
By Craig Grannell, Jerome Turner, Matt StephensSo here's what we need to do to arrive at our layout: s Create the main table to hold all the page elements. s Deal with the navigation area which is ...
-
Cisco CCNA Certification, 2 Volume Set: Exam 200-301
By Todd LammleThis inclusive, two-book set provides what you need to know to succeed on the new CCNA exam. The set includes Understanding Cisco Networking Technologies: Volume 1 and the CCNA Certification Study Guide: Volume 2.
-
CompTIA Network+ Study Guide: Exam N10-006
By Todd Lammle... you can use: –a –A –c –n –r –R –S –s All nbtstat switches are case sensitive. Generally speaking, lowercase switches deal with NetBIOS names of hosts, ...
-
CompTIA Network+ Study Guide with Online Labs: N10-007 Exam
By Todd Lammle, Jon Buhagiar... you can use: –a –A –c –n –r –R –S –s All nbtstat switches are case sensitive. Generally speaking, lowercase switches deal with NetBIOS names of hosts, ...
-
CCNA: Cisco Certified Network Associate FastPass
By Todd LammleS The S reference point defines the point between the customer router and an ... with the letter E deal with using ISDN on the existing telephone network.
-
Stranger in the Chat Room
By Todd Hafer, Jedd HaferA sequel to In the Chat Room With God finds a group of teens contacted by a mysterious and increasingly malevolent character who claims to know about their encounters with the Almighty and challenges their beliefs. Original.
-
Error Correction Coding: Mathematical Methods and Algorithms
By Todd K. MoonM M−1∑ k=0 −∞ ∞ k=0 The average energy per signal E s ∫ can be related to the ... we will deal primarily with additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), ...
-
Security+ Training Guide
By Todd King... to deal with most , but unfortunately not all , of these potential threats . ... The S / MIME standard implements encryption for message content using ...
-
CCDA: Cisco Certified Design Associate Study Guide: Exam 640-861
By Todd Lammle, Andy BarklS reference point The S reference point defines the reference point between ... with the letter E deal with using ISDN on the existing telephone network.