A brilliant review of a brilliant book that is simultaneously both very dated and never more relevant.
As Sami points out, work-to-rule is a profound illustration of why organisational complexity and messy reality will make AI adoption much harder and longer than is currently supposed.
Thomas Heatherwick’s brilliant “Humanize” provides an equally superb, perhaps more accessible, deconstruction (pun intended) of Le Corbusier’s aesthetic and the subtle social damage caused by much modern architecture.
Thanks Sami. I had never read the book, but after reading your review a few days ago purchased an electronic copy and haven't been able to put it (virtually) down. It gave me the same "we're here again" feeling as when I read Vincent Mosco's 2004 Digital Sublime - and maybe there's something in that 1994-2004 period echoing now twenty years on that's worth exploring. I also agree that the case studies can be exhausting... I'm already rushing forward to the 'metis' discussions as that's the part that caught my attention in the first place, but I suspect this will be one I'll read once for the gist, and twice for the real implications.
It finally happened: you reviewed a book as I'm reading it! And a long overdue read it is, since several friends recommended it years ago.
I love your review (and admire your reading speed and reviewing prowess) as I love the book. We have sacrificed so much of what humans need and learned in order to become "civilized." Seems a shame that those lessons still haven't sunk in.
A brilliant review of a brilliant book that is simultaneously both very dated and never more relevant.
As Sami points out, work-to-rule is a profound illustration of why organisational complexity and messy reality will make AI adoption much harder and longer than is currently supposed.
Thomas Heatherwick’s brilliant “Humanize” provides an equally superb, perhaps more accessible, deconstruction (pun intended) of Le Corbusier’s aesthetic and the subtle social damage caused by much modern architecture.
Thanks Sami. I had never read the book, but after reading your review a few days ago purchased an electronic copy and haven't been able to put it (virtually) down. It gave me the same "we're here again" feeling as when I read Vincent Mosco's 2004 Digital Sublime - and maybe there's something in that 1994-2004 period echoing now twenty years on that's worth exploring. I also agree that the case studies can be exhausting... I'm already rushing forward to the 'metis' discussions as that's the part that caught my attention in the first place, but I suspect this will be one I'll read once for the gist, and twice for the real implications.
Great that it nudged you to read it! Hopefully it'll be a good experience overall - looking forward to hearing your conclusions later 🙂
Full of wisdom and insights worth reading and reflecting upon!
It finally happened: you reviewed a book as I'm reading it! And a long overdue read it is, since several friends recommended it years ago.
I love your review (and admire your reading speed and reviewing prowess) as I love the book. We have sacrificed so much of what humans need and learned in order to become "civilized." Seems a shame that those lessons still haven't sunk in.
Thanks for the awesome writeup!