William Powers

I was afraid that Powers was going to go the easy route and condemn our connected gadgets. Instead, he accepts that we are so enamored of them because they have significant advantages. The issue is how to learn to use them in ways that let us continue to reflect, think deeply, and develop our inner lives. He doesn't do much to provide realistic answers. What shines in this book is that he revisits points in history where technological changes have brought their own crises to thinking people. show more We've worked through change before, and we will again. show less

Our book club likes to read certain categories of books at least once a cycle. So when the non-fiction selection month was available, I jumped on it and chose this book. Not only was the premise fascinating to me, but it takes place in our state so I thought it would be perfect. Unfortunately, I think my choice earned the unanimous rotten tomato award for the year and I'd have to agree. There was so much promise left unfulfilled and that, combined with the fairly sanctimonious tone, was the show more kiss of death.

Powers, an ecological activist long worried about his own carbon footprint, hears of a doctor living in a 12x12 home completely off the grid. Intrigued by her lifestyle, he is offered the opportunity to move into her home during a time period when she is out west protesting and he jumps at the chance to live the life of a wildcrafter. But this leap is inauthentic at best, while musing on nature and this back to the earth lifestyle, Powers never embraces the life fully, falling back on his girlfriend's car, apartment, and the local wi-fi enabled cafe. He glorifies the tiny carbon footprint of living 12x12 and while his point that we should all do more to reduce our carbon consumption is valid, he also ignores the problems of living as Dr. Jackie has done. A major reason she's chosen her lifestyle is her disagreement with tax money being used for war. A legitimate ideological stance but neither she nor he addresses anything worthy that tax money is used for though, such as education. Opting out of taxes through living small means not supporting your local library or local schools, etc. And many of Power's neighbors during his sojourn in Jackie's home aren't truly living in 12x12 homes. Multiple 12x12 buildings to work around the taxation issue is just plain cheating.

And perhaps these issues wouldn't have been so off-putting had they been addressed in the text. Instead, Powers came across as sanctimonious, certain of his righteousness and superiority, and frankly just plain pedantic. The writing was overloaded with unrelated musings and recountings of his past experiences, including his past relationship which resulted in a daughter. Very little of this had any bearing on his living in a small 12x12 structure. Actually, very little of the book indeed, had much of an account of his daily living there. While this is not intended to be a how to guide (and nor did I expect such), including more of the realities and challenges of a life so different from what most of us generally live would have made for a more interesting read. Simply condemning technology for technology's sake left this reader bored and came off as rather disingenuous given Powers' continued reliance on the technology of which he approves but simply removed from Jackie's homesite.

We do need to be more mindful of our impact on the environment but this book ultimately didn't even detail the author's striving to be mindful. A disappointment all the way around. show less

Caveat: I went into the reading of this book pretty much knowing that the author and I would understand each other. I have given a lot of thought to the fact that we are no longer left to our own thoughts for any significant period of time. Instead, we are surrounded by all forms of media that we can now carry with us wherever we go. And I have wondered, as did the author, what this would do to our minds (particularly our attention spans) and our relationships.

Beginning twelve years ago, show more before any of us were carrying around our digital worlds, I lived in Tokyo for 3 years. When you live in a primarily non-English-speaking country, you can spend significant parts of your day living 'in your head.' Because I had almost no TV, radio or convenient access to English newspapers, I went out every day, experienced the richness of the Japanese culture, tossed it around in my mind, and sent out short e-mail essays about my experiences. Frankly, there was little else that cluttered up my mind, and I found it easy to write down thoughtful missives weekly. When I arrived home, that creative process stopped, as I was presented with all kinds of other stimuli bombarding my senses. I can honestly say that since that time I have not produced with such creativity.

So I was quite intrigued with the premise of the book: that 'digital miximalism' continually divides our attention, keeping us from sustained deep thinking and in many ways affecting the quality of our lives. I didn't buy the book for this message alone; I wanted to read about the 7 philosophers, from Plato to McLuhan - that dealt with hyper-communication issues in their own time. I was not disappointed. I found the insights helpful, and understood more that this is a part of the human condition, and that we have a choice in how we manage all that surrounds us.

This book may not change your everyday lifestyle, but the message will most likely stay in the back of your mind as you navigate through connectivity in this changing world. By the way, and ironically, I read this book on my iPad! show less

Reviewed on my blog: http://throughaglassonion.com/2011/08/09/book-review-hamlets-blackberry-by-willi...

A funny thing happened while reading William Powers’ book about our constant connectivity—my Blackberry Bold became unusable for a few days. Timing is everything. In Hamlet’s Blackberry, Powers carefully observes what we’ve become in this digital age. Walking down the street we see every other person, if not every person, using some sort of handheld device. On public transportation show more you might see someone with an e-reader, tablet computer, or laptop flipping through pages or punching away madly at a screen. It’s what we’ve become—a deeply connected world that’s perhaps a little disconnected too?

We’ve become so connected that sometimes we just want to get away. But, Powers doesn’t advocate ridding ourselves of all our devices and digital connectivity. In fact, he reminds us that the challenges that technology poses for us today is not unlike the challenges new technologies posed in past centuries. While technology opens one world to us, it also narrows our interpersonal connections. “The gadgets and brand names change over time, but the tendency remains the same: away from the few and the near, toward the many and the far” (54). We need some sort of balance.

powersPowers writes that our constant need to be tied to a screen may be a part of the evolutionary process. Our bodies are wired to respond to new stimuli, which creates the biochemical response increased dopamine to the brain. Therefore, it is a natural response that we are easily distracted by screens, ring tones, texts, and the like. And, guess what? Marketers are no strangers to our bodies’ natural response and have exploited that enough to convince us that we need the latest gadgets and access to the newest social networks. Not convinced? Think of the hundreds of people that camp out before a new Apple product release. That scene, which plays out every so often, is enough to remind us about our dependence on technology and our need to be connected.

The problem isn’t really technology, but how we handle it. We’ve become slaves to our screens, to our iPhones and Blackberries, and all things digital. Even when my Blackberry was on the fritz, it was still a natural response for me to pick it up and want to check messages. Smartphones have changed the way we work and interact with others; there’s information overload at every turn. We are bombarded by information via everything from the phones we carry to the computers we use daily to the television we watch. So, what do we do to maintain real connectedness in this 21st-century world?

Powers shows us that information overload is not just a 21st-century problem. It has been a problem faced by men and women of every century. How do we deal with new technologies without hindering our need for real community? Through examples from Plato, Seneca, Benjamin Franklin, Gutenberg, Shakespeare, Thoreau, and Marshal McLuhan, we learn how they dealt with the technologies that emerged during their time and dramatically changed the way of life for many. Gutenberg’s printing press, for example, was seen as a threat to the art of writing. Many felt the printing press wouldn’t last. And, yet, it did and became the forerunner of the many technologies we have today.

Powers focuses way too much on telling us and providing examples of how connected we are. Where he shines is in the historical perspective he provides. Learning about historical figures and their use of the newest tech and gadgets of their day is as refreshing as it is informative. Powers also shines when it comes to providing us with tips to on how to take a step back from the burdens that come along with the benefit of technology. He finds in each of the historical figures nuggets of wisdom about how to live in a world with technology. And, he tells us about the “Internet Sabbath” that he and his family take each weekend—an opportunity to disconnect from the internet, from Friday night thru Monday morning, in order to reconnect with each other and enjoy life beyond the screen. He hits the nail on the head and delivers what he intended: advice for living a balanced and good life in the digital age.

While I feel some of the early chapters are repetitive, this book is worth the read for its insightful look at the past, its observations of the present, and the tips it offers for our future interactions with our digital devices and each other. In short, Powers encourages to make time for the world outside technology. Stopping and smelling the roses might sound cliché, but it does help us focus on something other than a screen. Reading Powers’ book is a good first step. show less