sociologia y tecnología

Category: Book Reviews

  • The Googlization of Everything – Book Review

    By Javier de Rivera. Originally published in The International Journal of Communication, of USC Annenberg. The basic thesis of this book is that Google assumes roles and projects that, because of their central importance in society, should be carried out and led by public institutions, or at least subjected to regulations that assure the interests…

  • Networks Withouth a Cause, by Geertz Lovink – Book Review

    By Javier de Rivera Networks Without a Cause. A Critique of Social Media – by Geert Lovink. 2011. Polity Press Originally published on: Interactions UCLA Journal of Education and Information Studies – Download PDF Networks Without a Cause offers a provocative and critical review of today\’s well established social media. The book departs from the…

  • Book Review, The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood. By James Gleick

    What is information? This is probably the main question driving the reader throughout the book, which is presented as a comprehensive review of the concept of information, its history, meaning and role in modern society. In 437 pages, James Gleick takes the reader through the discovery of the “historicity” of the concept of information, exposed…

  • Book Review: African Fractals, by Ron Eglash

     Download the COMPLETE BOOK REVIEW African Fractals is an interesting book about ethno-mathematics in Africa. It is about about the presence of advanced mathematical concepts in traditional African cultures, and uses these findings as a way of empowerment for African cultures – diaspora included. It is a risky move, because it accepts the presence of…

  • Book Review: The Net Delusion, by Evgeny Morozov

    By Javier de Rivera Originally written in socialmediasociology.com in Jan 3, 2012. Considered one of the best books of the year 2011 by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, The Net Delusion offers an interesting analysis of the relation between Internet development and its political consequences, with an special emphasis in what is happening in authoritarian governments.…

  • Book Review: The Cybernetic Brain, by Andrew Pickering

    Download the COMPLETE book review: The Cybernetic Brain, by Pickering In this critical review I try to point out the flaws of the book and expose the weak arguments of Pickering. The book is awful. It is probably one of the worst books I have read. Aside from the egotistic and narcissistic tone of Pickering,…

  • Book Review: Aramis or the love for technology, Bruno Latour.

    By Javier de Rivera In this book, Latour addresses the social and political factors implicated in the development of technological projects. To such an end, he uses the case study of a failed technological project: Aramis, an innovative public transportation system developed in France between 1972 and 1987 that, despite its apparent technological interest and…

  • The Modern Invention of Information – Ron Day

    This links to the literary review of Ron Day\’s Works where I try to synthesize the most relevant points of his oeuvre. Ron Day has been one of the best discoveries I made during the time I am spending in the PhD program of the UCLA Information Studies department. \”The Modern Invention of Information\” was…