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The Blind Giant
The digital age. An age of isolation, warped communication, disintegrating community. Where unfiltered and unregulated information pours relentlessly into our lives, destroying what it means to be human. Or an age of marvels. Where there is a world of wonder at our fingertips. Where we can communicate across the globe, learn in the blink of an eye, pull down the barriers that divide us and move forward together. Whatever your reaction to technological culture, the speed with which our world is changing is both mesmerising and challenging. In The Blind Giant, novelist and tech blogger Nick Harkaway draws together fascinating and disparate ideas to challenge the notion that digital culture is the source of all our modern ills, while at the same time showing where the dangers are real and suggesting how they can be combated. Ultimately, the choice is ours: engage with the machines that we have created, or risk creating a world which is designed for corporations and computers rather than people. This is an essential handbook for everyone trying to be human in a digital age.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
About the author
Nick Harkaway
32 books53.6k followersNick Harkaway was born in Cornwall, UK in 1972. He is possessed of two explosively exciting eyebrows, which exert an almost hypnotic attraction over small children, dogs, and - thankfully - one ludicrously attractive human rights lawyer, to whom he is married.
He likes: oceans, mountains, lakes, valleys, and those little pigs made of marzipan they have in Switzerland at new year.
He does not like: bivalves. You just can't trust them.
He likes: oceans, mountains, lakes, valleys, and those little pigs made of marzipan they have in Switzerland at new year.
He does not like: bivalves. You just can't trust them.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 17, 2012
If you want my full review go here
http://www.newcommbiz.com/the-future-...
Most interesting to me though, is that this is a book about the disruption of technology, by a writer who is the child of writers (Nick’s father is John le Carré). Nick has grown up in one of the industries most disrupted by technology, and being a member of Generation X, Nick grew up during the time that technology itself has grown up.
While Nick himself may be an early adopter and a power user of social media he also made a name for himself here in the UK as an outspoken critic of the heavy-handed approach tech companies take with their users. He has been most vocal on the Google Book Settlement. Nick took issue not with the existence of the project, but with the way in which Google went about it. It’s this outspokenness about tech that led Nick to write The Blind Giant.
What becomes apparent about Nick – and is evident in The Blind Giant - is that he is passionate about the potential of technology, and understands that it can be used for “good” just as well as “evil”. Because of his background and his current situation Nick sits balanced between the ongoing debates surrounding technology, intellectual property, publishing and privacy (I should also mention his wife is a human rights lawyer).
Nick starts the book by doing an admirable job of covering the huge topic of modern technology, specifically computing and the Internet, taking us from the early days (aka the 80s) through to modern times. For those of us that lived during this time it’s a nice bit of nostalgia. For those who weren’t paying attention and wondered where all of this tech stuff suddenly came from, it’s a good crash-course. It’s also a useful piece of history for the younger Generation Y readers who don’t know what Netscape was.
Nick then tackles, head on, many of today’s hotly debated topics. I was delighted that he took to task several of the complaints Nicholas Carr raised in his book The Shallows (aka “Google is making us Stupid”). And he discusses the debate on publishing and intellectual property and how many forces are putting it at odds with personal privacy – you shouldn’t have to give up one for the other.
The book is not long (especially compared to Nick’s novels) and at just over 250 pages Nick doesn’t have a lot of time to go deep on each topic. But what he does well is frame each topic with enough context and examples and then breaks the subject open enough for the reader to continue the debate intelligently. In fact, there is an accompanying website at www.blindgiant.co.uk where readers are encouraged to continue the debate in a forum or in posts about each chapter.
There are very few definitive conclusions made in the book and I believe this is because Nick wants to the reader to come to their own conclusions. Nick’s main point is that we created technology and (in my words, not his) that it is in fact a natural extension of our own evolutionary progress. We created technology to solve some of our more pressing problems (and to have some fun). We created technology to allow us to be more human, not less. But it won’t just sit there and regulate itself (or us) and manage how we use it. If we don’t manage ourselves and technology then at best it becomes yet another distraction, a point of stress in our lives. At worst, larger forces, like governments and corporations will turn technology into a tool to manipulate us.
Ultimately Nick argues that we need to develop our critical analysis skills. He even offers up a few tips and tools to help us along. To survive and thrive in the digital age we need to ask ourselves and each other hard questions, we need to engage in debates. We can’t sit by with optimistic expectations of the inevitable arrival of a technology utopia or with fatalistic expectations that an apocalyptic technology dystopia is inevitable.
To borrow a line from The Blind Giant:
The hard truth is: get involved, or get sidelined. The future is not set. It’s being made right now.
http://www.newcommbiz.com/the-future-...
Most interesting to me though, is that this is a book about the disruption of technology, by a writer who is the child of writers (Nick’s father is John le Carré). Nick has grown up in one of the industries most disrupted by technology, and being a member of Generation X, Nick grew up during the time that technology itself has grown up.
While Nick himself may be an early adopter and a power user of social media he also made a name for himself here in the UK as an outspoken critic of the heavy-handed approach tech companies take with their users. He has been most vocal on the Google Book Settlement. Nick took issue not with the existence of the project, but with the way in which Google went about it. It’s this outspokenness about tech that led Nick to write The Blind Giant.
What becomes apparent about Nick – and is evident in The Blind Giant - is that he is passionate about the potential of technology, and understands that it can be used for “good” just as well as “evil”. Because of his background and his current situation Nick sits balanced between the ongoing debates surrounding technology, intellectual property, publishing and privacy (I should also mention his wife is a human rights lawyer).
Nick starts the book by doing an admirable job of covering the huge topic of modern technology, specifically computing and the Internet, taking us from the early days (aka the 80s) through to modern times. For those of us that lived during this time it’s a nice bit of nostalgia. For those who weren’t paying attention and wondered where all of this tech stuff suddenly came from, it’s a good crash-course. It’s also a useful piece of history for the younger Generation Y readers who don’t know what Netscape was.
Nick then tackles, head on, many of today’s hotly debated topics. I was delighted that he took to task several of the complaints Nicholas Carr raised in his book The Shallows (aka “Google is making us Stupid”). And he discusses the debate on publishing and intellectual property and how many forces are putting it at odds with personal privacy – you shouldn’t have to give up one for the other.
The book is not long (especially compared to Nick’s novels) and at just over 250 pages Nick doesn’t have a lot of time to go deep on each topic. But what he does well is frame each topic with enough context and examples and then breaks the subject open enough for the reader to continue the debate intelligently. In fact, there is an accompanying website at www.blindgiant.co.uk where readers are encouraged to continue the debate in a forum or in posts about each chapter.
There are very few definitive conclusions made in the book and I believe this is because Nick wants to the reader to come to their own conclusions. Nick’s main point is that we created technology and (in my words, not his) that it is in fact a natural extension of our own evolutionary progress. We created technology to solve some of our more pressing problems (and to have some fun). We created technology to allow us to be more human, not less. But it won’t just sit there and regulate itself (or us) and manage how we use it. If we don’t manage ourselves and technology then at best it becomes yet another distraction, a point of stress in our lives. At worst, larger forces, like governments and corporations will turn technology into a tool to manipulate us.
Ultimately Nick argues that we need to develop our critical analysis skills. He even offers up a few tips and tools to help us along. To survive and thrive in the digital age we need to ask ourselves and each other hard questions, we need to engage in debates. We can’t sit by with optimistic expectations of the inevitable arrival of a technology utopia or with fatalistic expectations that an apocalyptic technology dystopia is inevitable.
To borrow a line from The Blind Giant:
The hard truth is: get involved, or get sidelined. The future is not set. It’s being made right now.
August 12, 2014
An interesting book. The beginning is a bit slow (at least for someone like me who lives with a serious tech guy, and who is old enough to remember the birth of the web), as it's rather a potted history of the Internet, but it picks up when it gets to Harkaway's specific ideas about the intersection of technology and the book world.
I'm curious about his view of social media, though. He says he looks at how many people a person is following (on Twitter, say), not just how many followers they have, to get a better sense of how engaged they are, and he compliments someone who is following something like 15,000 people. Call me an introvert, but I can't even begin to understand how one could do that--and still do anything else (and what's wrong with being an introvert, anyway?).
I'm reasonably engaged with the world, in Harkaway's other terms; I see people, I read books, I'm on a couple of social sites, like this one, and I try to contribute my bit to them (instead of just lurking), but...15,000?
This leads to another question, which is exactly one of quantity vs. quality. I've been on Ravelry, a knitting website, for years. It's justifiably famous for being well-designed, and that's created a problem; all the other social media sites I've seen are so poorly done by comparison, that I don't want to join!
So I'm on Ravelry and Goodreads, but I disdain Facebook. Does it make sense to say, in Harkaway's terms, that I am disengaged? There's got to be another term: Selectively engaged, maybe. Though that makes it sound as though I'm trying to stay in an echo chamber of people who agree with me, which is emphatically not right. Hmmm.
I'm curious about his view of social media, though. He says he looks at how many people a person is following (on Twitter, say), not just how many followers they have, to get a better sense of how engaged they are, and he compliments someone who is following something like 15,000 people. Call me an introvert, but I can't even begin to understand how one could do that--and still do anything else (and what's wrong with being an introvert, anyway?).
I'm reasonably engaged with the world, in Harkaway's other terms; I see people, I read books, I'm on a couple of social sites, like this one, and I try to contribute my bit to them (instead of just lurking), but...15,000?
This leads to another question, which is exactly one of quantity vs. quality. I've been on Ravelry, a knitting website, for years. It's justifiably famous for being well-designed, and that's created a problem; all the other social media sites I've seen are so poorly done by comparison, that I don't want to join!
So I'm on Ravelry and Goodreads, but I disdain Facebook. Does it make sense to say, in Harkaway's terms, that I am disengaged? There's got to be another term: Selectively engaged, maybe. Though that makes it sound as though I'm trying to stay in an echo chamber of people who agree with me, which is emphatically not right. Hmmm.
September 30, 2015
In my current, “I’m-all-about-the-non-fiction” phase (I get one, every so often) I just finished reading Nick Harkaway’s new book The Blind Giant. The simple verdict, it’s good, go read it.
Longer version - yes, I was pre-disposed to like it, I like digital stuff and tech, I like thinking about the impact that they’re going to have, I like Nick Harkaway and his writing (otherwise I probably wouldn’t have bought the hardback). I also like the cover. It pretty.
I also really quite like the approach to the subject, which is very much, ‘I can’t be definitive, and a lot of this is going to be out-of-date in about five minutes anyway, but let’s talk about some interesting questions and start engaging our brains with them.’ I’m not an expert, or even mildly proficient, in this area, so I have no idea what ‘new’ stuff this brings to the table - but it synthesises a lot of ideas and arguments well, isn’t afraid to mention stuff that it’s going to question (and not in a beat-up and burn down the straw man type way), and is very accessible and engaging.
Longer version - yes, I was pre-disposed to like it, I like digital stuff and tech, I like thinking about the impact that they’re going to have, I like Nick Harkaway and his writing (otherwise I probably wouldn’t have bought the hardback). I also like the cover. It pretty.
I also really quite like the approach to the subject, which is very much, ‘I can’t be definitive, and a lot of this is going to be out-of-date in about five minutes anyway, but let’s talk about some interesting questions and start engaging our brains with them.’ I’m not an expert, or even mildly proficient, in this area, so I have no idea what ‘new’ stuff this brings to the table - but it synthesises a lot of ideas and arguments well, isn’t afraid to mention stuff that it’s going to question (and not in a beat-up and burn down the straw man type way), and is very accessible and engaging.
October 23, 2018
Always fascinating, this is a clear-headed counterpoint to the prevailing "technolgiez is destryin arr youths" myths that float around on (of all places) Facebook. You know the ones, "I grew up playing with mud and I turned out alright! Ok, some of my friends died of dysentery, but, still..."
The point that Mr. Harkaway keeps coming back to, is that technology is just another tool. The difference with the internet, most specifically the mobile internet, is that we've allowed into our homes products, communications, and a way of contacting us, that never before have crossed our doorways, metaphorically speaking, and this is the change that we're dealing with - not information overload, as the information was always there; instead, it's the access to that information that has fooled us into thinking of it as information overload. This then leads to a paralysis, as we continue to look for new information to shore up our beliefs.
Trivially obvious example: GM foods are obviously bad. So, everyone should stop eating them and go organic.
Except that they're not bad. And most of the world, overpopulated countries especially, couldn't survive without them.
So what to do?
I won't answer here, that's what the book is for - I recommend slowly reading it and digesting, and making your own choices.
The point that Mr. Harkaway keeps coming back to, is that technology is just another tool. The difference with the internet, most specifically the mobile internet, is that we've allowed into our homes products, communications, and a way of contacting us, that never before have crossed our doorways, metaphorically speaking, and this is the change that we're dealing with - not information overload, as the information was always there; instead, it's the access to that information that has fooled us into thinking of it as information overload. This then leads to a paralysis, as we continue to look for new information to shore up our beliefs.
Trivially obvious example: GM foods are obviously bad. So, everyone should stop eating them and go organic.
Except that they're not bad. And most of the world, overpopulated countries especially, couldn't survive without them.
So what to do?
I won't answer here, that's what the book is for - I recommend slowly reading it and digesting, and making your own choices.
December 3, 2019
Although this book was published the better part of the decade ago, its analyses reveal so much about our relationship to the internet today that it bears reading right now – especially as some of the questions that it poses are hot on the tongues of many today.
February 1, 2023
With an almost stream-of-consciousness style, the author looks at the value and dangers of social media. There is much to chew on here, but unfortunately, this book was written over a decade ago, which is about a century in computer years, leaving some of the discussions rather dated.
May 11, 2022
"Engagement is the key to authenticity. Without it, you could be standing in the midst of wonder and see nothing."
August 25, 2012
An interesting read on the topic of digital era. Prior to this book, I've read You Are Not A Gadget by Jaron Lanier, The Digital Divide by Mark Bauerlein and Alone Together by Sherry Turkle. Those three books, while I admit are well written, detailed and persuasive, lack a bit of 'spice'. I don't even know what the missing ingredient is until I read The Blind Giant.
What's missing from many other books about digital lifestyle is 'humbleness'. Funny, right? The Blind Giant works for me, especially because Harkaway wrote it in a very easy-to-read manner. He explained everything in layman's terms and that gave me a sense of connection and relatedness I didn't find before. More so, Harkaway gave an impression that he wasn't pretended to be a pundit or expert in digital tech, instead he tried to write the book from a participant viewpoint -- as a guy who experience digital stuff, firsthand. I can almost relate to him as fellow internet users. He even invited readers of the book to discuss the idea of each chapter (I read the Kindle version, which gave links to the author's website at end of each chapters.)
The first half of the book is great (even the introduction is awesome!) Detailing the rise of internet and social media; this particular rise and the prevalence of communication gadgets everywhere had made us -- both as individual and society -- became more open to one another. The personal space where once was secure and quiet, now was intruded by friends, family and coworkers. We invited them to our home, to our jeans pocket, our backpack, and the palm of our hands. As we opened up ourselves, we also became more vulnerable. We let each other knew our exact locations, our current activities, even our mental state and emotions. Everything is so close and just a click away these days. The second half of the book, I admit felt rather weak. Harkaway tried to convince the readers that the effect of digital era is not country-specific, but instead, globally. He dropped many references here and there, with topics such as street revolutions and worldwide financial problem. While I admire his grand view, I didn't see this second part had anything to do with the rest of the book's content. Luckily, the third part did the book justice. The book found its way again. Harkaway talked about altruism, participation and the open nature of digital era. Whether for good or bad, digital is the future and we should prepare ourselves for wherever this current trend took us. This last chapter deals mostly with human-digital interaction, with greater emphasize on human side. The suggested activities at the end of the book is both interesting and fun to do.
This is the most human book ever talked about technology. Harkaway didn't try to convince readers to look at one point of view. He told us to look around, see different angles and possibilities. The book lacks a good closure or conclusion of any kind, and that's exactly the point: we need to make a good one for ourselves.
What's missing from many other books about digital lifestyle is 'humbleness'. Funny, right? The Blind Giant works for me, especially because Harkaway wrote it in a very easy-to-read manner. He explained everything in layman's terms and that gave me a sense of connection and relatedness I didn't find before. More so, Harkaway gave an impression that he wasn't pretended to be a pundit or expert in digital tech, instead he tried to write the book from a participant viewpoint -- as a guy who experience digital stuff, firsthand. I can almost relate to him as fellow internet users. He even invited readers of the book to discuss the idea of each chapter (I read the Kindle version, which gave links to the author's website at end of each chapters.)
The first half of the book is great (even the introduction is awesome!) Detailing the rise of internet and social media; this particular rise and the prevalence of communication gadgets everywhere had made us -- both as individual and society -- became more open to one another. The personal space where once was secure and quiet, now was intruded by friends, family and coworkers. We invited them to our home, to our jeans pocket, our backpack, and the palm of our hands. As we opened up ourselves, we also became more vulnerable. We let each other knew our exact locations, our current activities, even our mental state and emotions. Everything is so close and just a click away these days. The second half of the book, I admit felt rather weak. Harkaway tried to convince the readers that the effect of digital era is not country-specific, but instead, globally. He dropped many references here and there, with topics such as street revolutions and worldwide financial problem. While I admire his grand view, I didn't see this second part had anything to do with the rest of the book's content. Luckily, the third part did the book justice. The book found its way again. Harkaway talked about altruism, participation and the open nature of digital era. Whether for good or bad, digital is the future and we should prepare ourselves for wherever this current trend took us. This last chapter deals mostly with human-digital interaction, with greater emphasize on human side. The suggested activities at the end of the book is both interesting and fun to do.
This is the most human book ever talked about technology. Harkaway didn't try to convince readers to look at one point of view. He told us to look around, see different angles and possibilities. The book lacks a good closure or conclusion of any kind, and that's exactly the point: we need to make a good one for ourselves.
April 13, 2019
Pity the cyclops because when he literally gets blind drunk, in The Odyssey, things stay bad. One minute he's buzzed; the next, he's feeling up the sheep.
Nick Harkaway's book The Blind Giant: Being Human in a Digital World is more optimistic. He set out to write the book to counter the argument that new technology is responsible for our contemporary ills.
I agree with his thesis. I've long believed that technological advances don't regress in the face of nostalgia for a past that, honestly, wasn't better. Technology is a tool, an extension of our humanity. What we do with it reflects more about us than it does about whatever app we use.
To Harkaway's credit, he's written a moderately toned book that appeals to our better techno-angels rather than to our techno-demons. His conclusion, however, seems to say reality-based engagement weighs a tad more than virtual engagement. How should we be in a digital world? The first three activities are for the techno-angels. The last one is not just for the techno-demon who finds digitization the source of all global breakdown, but the chances are good that if you can't play online, your issue is the play, not the line. After all, casinos are full of retirees who grew up without touch-screens but now play video poker.
Blind Giant doesn't heal the blind, but it might minimize some stumbling. Placing deindividuation (acting in a way you wouldn't if people knew your identity) in the context of The Internet is a useful idea alongside other useful ideas, such as "The Internet is not a broadcast medium" even if many use it that way (160). Ideally,The Internet is for communication, but in his final great metaphor of to load ourselves into.
So even if The Internet turns out to be a contemplative mirror of self-communication, that's okay.
July 10, 2012
A look at some of the issues we're currently or soon to be facing as technology relentlessly permeates into our lives. A fairly quick read the book puts forward a lot of interesting moral, technological and political ideas that provide plenty of food for though for the interested reader.
Although the book starts with a look at two possible futures (one dystopian and one utopian) the majority of the book concerns itself with the immediate future - some of the issues at first glance might seem like far-flung science fiction but they are in fact much closer than you have previously believed.
You'll be entertaining/boring your friends for hours with facts, questions and futurist ideas that are hard to let go after reading this - a great read for the curious mind. My only negative point would be that the final part of the book is a bit of a letdown - I was hoping for a conclusion pulling us back to the future states we saw at the start of the book, but sadly the conclusion remains foggily present day and regurgitative.
Although the book starts with a look at two possible futures (one dystopian and one utopian) the majority of the book concerns itself with the immediate future - some of the issues at first glance might seem like far-flung science fiction but they are in fact much closer than you have previously believed.
You'll be entertaining/boring your friends for hours with facts, questions and futurist ideas that are hard to let go after reading this - a great read for the curious mind. My only negative point would be that the final part of the book is a bit of a letdown - I was hoping for a conclusion pulling us back to the future states we saw at the start of the book, but sadly the conclusion remains foggily present day and regurgitative.
August 6, 2012
Other than with his two novels (The Gone-Away World and Angelmaker) Harkaway does as an essayist not challenge his readers with eccentric prose and extravagant flights of fancy. (BTW: Which is not meant a a diss against his novels … both are brilliant!) — He offers an thematically wide ranged (and sometimes personal) examination of the merits and dangers, the possibilities and changes that come with the rise of information technology, especially the internet. He avoids elegantly not to be too optimistic or too pessimistic, but he appeals to his readers to be aware of the pitfalls of modern communication and interaction, and advises them, to get engaged, to take part in the decisions that will shape the further development of the digital world.
Want to read
September 17, 2012Preliminary Note: To those Americans who have been just as frustrated with the hard-copy procurement process and backasswards publishing decisions surrounding this book (we know it's not your fault, Nick!), Strand Bookstore in NYC might have a copy (Union Sq location)! That is where I found mine (hardcover), and I didn't pay an arm and a leg for it.
April 19, 2016
I prefer my ideas wrapped around fiction, so must look out for this author. I enjoyed reading this balanced yet personal account of the many new aspects the digital era brings. Lots to think about, appealingly presented. He has a real gift for the perfect metaphor. Trying to hit his tai chi teacher was 'like trying to put handcuffs on a trout!'
November 1, 2014
Harkaway's keen observations and ability to synthesize perspectives from all over the map are first-rate, and suffice to merit 4 stars. The quality of his writing per se, and the abundant humor and humanity that permeate these pages earn the 5th. Outstanding.
December 10, 2014
Nick writes another winner!
I've read all Nick's fiction and I love it. This is very informative, an easy read and a wonderful resource for more cognitive studies. Thanks Mr Harkaway
I've read all Nick's fiction and I love it. This is very informative, an easy read and a wonderful resource for more cognitive studies. Thanks Mr Harkaway
Read
May 28, 2012How do we continue to be human in this digital world?
May 28, 2013
Some good points but I found this a bit of a struggle http://themelican.blogspot.co.uk/2013...
October 3, 2012
Reviewed for The Oz. Fantastic book. Such clear and intelligent writing.
March 26, 2013
I was enjoying this until I left it in Plymouth...
February 10, 2014
A little less innovative than I expected as far as conversations about advance technologies but still thought provoking.
August 22, 2014
Nice though provoking insights into what technology has brought in to the human lives. His arguments are too congested and fast paced, i could not comprehend as an amature reader. Great book though
October 25, 2014
It's a pleasent read, but I didn't found any new idea in it.
July 23, 2013
A really great book that I'm using in my freshman seminar on life hacking.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews