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The Soft Edge: Natural History and Future of the Information Revolution
 
 
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The Soft Edge: Natural History and Future of the Information Revolution [Kindle Edition]

Paul Levinson (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review) |
Digital List Price: £19.99 What's this?
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Review

"This history provides a refreshing contrast to texts that are little more than litanies of dates and/or tomes of doomsayers. It provides excellent insights and is suggested reading for those with a keen interest in media."
-"Educator
""The Soft Edge is a wonderful book, both as a historical survey of how information technologies have evolved and as a critique of how some media critics have portrayed computers and the Internet."
-"Technology and Society
"Remarkable in both scholarly sweep and rhetorical lyricism. . . what first promises to be the digital "Origin of the Species turns out to be a sequel to "The Odyssey: media's progress is presented as an epic journey toward freedom, unseating censors along the way."
-"Wired
"Smart, spare, yet deep, and heartily recommended."
-"Library Journal
..."defies the critics of technology who insist that technology robs human life of its human character...well worth the attention of those interested in the history, nature, and future of technology."
-"Analog

Product Description

Boldly extending and deepening the pathways blazed by Marshall McLuhan, Paul Levinson presents an engaging tour of how communications media have been responsible for major developments in history and for the significant changes in our personal and social lives today. The Soft Edge explores how information technologies influence events in decisive ways at crucial times in history and how they are selected for survival based on how well they accommodate human needs. Using often original and unusual interpretations of both historic and recent events, Levinson brilliantly displays the role new media plays in society, the effects that human choice has on this (r)evolution, and what's in store for us in the future.

Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 595 KB
  • Print Length: 278 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0415197724
  • Publisher: Taylor & Francis (20 Mar 2007)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language English
  • ASIN: B000OT7WDK
  • Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #392,153 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Paul Levinson
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
An enormously insightful panorama and investigation into the past, present and future evolution of information technology. The author looks at the impact of IT on society and the history of media of all types, from the introduction of the alphabet over hieroglyphics, to the photo-electronic revolution, to the age of computers and creation of the Web. The book concludes with ideas for the future, including ways to protect intellectual property, ethics, and ultimate possibilities for artificial intelligence. This is a work of both depth and breadth. For those who crave the macro/global perspective of the world, this book will be a fascinating find. Bibliography. HIGHLY recommended. Reviewed with great interest by Gerry Stern, founding partner, Stern & Associates and HRconsultant.com.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:  12 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Excellent overview, somewhat confusing 7 Jan 1999
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
After a long search, I selected this as the best book available for providing a historical overview of the social effects of electronic communication media for my college course, "The Information Age." The author clearly identifies the various types of technology: audio, visual, multimedia, and he does a nice job of assessing the impact of these individually and in combination. The latter third of the book becomes increasingly confusing, however, as he attempts to extend today's technologies into the future and predict their effects. My students found the book very interesting, and the author's ideas generated quite a bit of discussion.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Good read but short on future trends for such a long build u 11 May 2000
By C. Freas - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
I enjoyed reading The Soft Edge. I found Levinson to be a little long in his summations. I also found that his first two chapters were confusing. I was not sure of his direction or the purpose of his book. His use of mini-headings in each chapter did make each subject easier to understand. I would highly recommend this book for research in other classes. I have already used it. I did find his use of quotes from other authors leaving me wanting more. He used them to prove his arguments. Without more from that author, I was not able to accept or decline his argument. I believe his weakest part was on the future of technology. Levinson gives a great history and analysis on the impact. I found his analysis on the future small and quite unassuming.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Great questions, uneven answers 30 Nov 1999
By Arnold Kling - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This book asks many interesting questions about the history and future of media. Examples include:

1. Why did the sight-only medium of silent movies get wiped out completely by "talkies" while the sound-only medium of radio survived television?

2. The most powerful leaders of the past 150 years were Churchill, Roosevelt, Hitler, and Stalin. Was this power due to the nature of radio as a medium, and the fact that radio flowered when they were prominent?

3. Is centralized authority in media necessary (because people need "gatekeepers" to filter information for them) or a result of the economics of mass media (the high cost of sending radio signals compared to the low cost of receiving them)?

4. Does information want to be free?

Levinson's answers are not always as good as his questions. His explanation for the survival of radio (as a medium you can use while doing something else) was persuasive. His view that the leaders of WWII drew their power from radio was less compelling.

Levinson's view of the decentralization effects of computers is valid. The opposite view, which is widely held, is a serious misconception.

Otherwise, when discussing the future, Levinson is disappointing. He says less than what can be found in other work that predates his book. The issue of the future of paper is discussed better in some of George Gilder's articles in Forbes ASAP, going back to 1994. The issue of how to pay for information is discussed better in Brad Cox's work on what he calls "superdistribution." The issue of the status of artificial life is discussed better in Steven Levy's book on that subject.

If I were teaching a course on the Internet, I would include "The Soft Edge" as background reading early in the course. It would help students start to think about the evolution of media.

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Popular Highlights

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&quote;
To the extent that an information system has an inevitable, irresistible social (or other) effect, media theorists refer to that relationship as "hard" media determinism. &quote;
Highlighted by 3 Kindle users
&quote;
Soft determinism, then, entails an interplay between the information technology making something possible, and human beings turning that possibility into a reality. &quote;
Highlighted by 3 Kindle users
&quote;
Literacy probably constitutes the most significant monopoly of knowledge in human history. &quote;
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