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Hamlet's BlackBerry: Building a Good Life in the Digital Age ReviewIn this well-researched, thought-provoking book, Powers presents a sobering look at how we have let technology impact our views about the world and our relationship to it. Drawing parallels from paradigm-shifting events from the not-so-recent past (the written word in Plato's time, invention of the printing press), Powers employs some distilled (cherry-picked, one could argue) philosophical interpretations to define the current state ("digital maximism") and our evolving notions of connectedness (he argues that this evolution is mostly detrimental).
One cannot but admire the sheer amount of research and reflection that has shaped each chapter. The notions of distance (Plato), inner space (Seneca), "inwardness of technologies" (Gutenberg), embodied cognition and evolution of tools (Shakespeare), the power of positive rituals (Franklin), the need for Walden zones, and managing the quality of ones experience (inner thermostat - McLuhan) may seem disparate and disjointed to almost any reader. But Powers manages to convey a very powerful unifying theme, centered on an investigation of trying to characterize the impact of our gadget-centric life ("screens") by understanding how earlier generations have accommodated change. (while the investigation is mostly rooted in a philosophical framing, the underlying question of course is quite existential - how connected should we be?)
Powers' eagerness to impress upon us the craziness of our degree of connectedness to the "screens" and a constant reassurance that he is not against technology forces him to be repetitive at times. Despite the novel interpretations and arguments, Powers comes up short in addressing "what can one do to change behavior?". Nevertheless, Powers successfully sustains the reader's interest and curiosity (What can Plato or Shakespeare possibly know about Facebook-type connectivity?). The lucid interpretations of some of Philosophy's foundational work (Plato's Dialogs, for example) and a summary chapter highlighting the key Philosophy principles relevant to his arguments are alone worth the book.
Some themes are similar to those seen in You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto - another excellent read. The reader may also benefit from a starker take on the impact of technology, particularly, the Internet in The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains.
Overall, this informative, entertaining, thought provoking book forced me to rethink my views on "connectedness" and how much it should (or not) mean to me. The "sacrifices" one has to make to read this book (less Tweeting, fewer status updates on Facebook or fewer Instant Messenger pings)- are all well worth it. A great read.
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