A well-paced investigation into the lasting effects of digital culture.
A philosophical look at modern technology and its impact on the self.
Tate explains the proxy condition as a state in which “the self is constituted across two incompatible systems (digital and physical, algorithmic and embodied) that do not share a unified frame for recognition.” It’s a common state in the modern world: While people have their physical existence (in which they eat and sleep), they also have a digital presence free from such concerns. The digital presence is that which exists on websites like Reddit and Facebook. This is unlike other technological breakthroughs in human history; something like a car gets used and then put away, but the digital self keeps going over the internet and has “reshaped what it means to be present.” Our choices on the internet go on to help shape the internet—for instance, on social media, “What you view and like will play a role in what is shown to others.” What’s more, the entire system has “quietly changed the rules of daily life” as we simultaneously exist in the real world while maintaining an online presence. (Activities as seemingly innocuous as scrolling through news feeds have real consequences.) The author effectively introduces terms like recursivity to help navigate the finer points. Visual aids illustrate how the world has gotten to its present state. Elements like a table of tech milestones from the years 1995 through 2006 help to put advancements into context—it’s easy to see how the modern digital era has emerged when one looks at the evolution of online banking in the late 1990s, followed a few years later by the faster “Always-On Internet.” Likewise, readers will come to fully appreciate how “Digital behaviors are not isolated, singular actions.” Some points are not exactly revelatory, however—the fact that the internet has allowed “Countless bad actors” to “scam at [an] unprecedented scale” will be news to no one. Ultimately, though, the book provides a nuanced lens through which readers can consider the ubiquity of the modern internet.
A well-paced investigation into the lasting effects of digital culture.Pub Date: June 2, 2025
ISBN: 9798998773747
Page Count: 275
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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