Caught in the Current

Searching for Simplicity in the Technological Age

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Nature
Cover of the book Caught in the Current by Jay Bookman, St. Martin's Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jay Bookman ISBN: 9781466851610
Publisher: St. Martin's Press Publication: August 13, 2013
Imprint: St. Martin's Press Language: English
Author: Jay Bookman
ISBN: 9781466851610
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication: August 13, 2013
Imprint: St. Martin's Press
Language: English

Science tells us what is. Technology tells us what can be. But neither can tell us what ought to be.

As a science and technology journalist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jay Bookman has witnessed some of the most remarkable and exciting advances in human history-supercomputers, cyborgs, genetic engineering. Like the rest of us, though, he has also watched as ever-more sophisticated tools intended to make our lives easier and less stressful have often done the opposite. The problem, he says, lies not in our tools, but in ourselves.
In Caught in the Current, Bookman and four friends embark on their annual rafting trip down the Deschutes River in central Oregon. Leaving cell phones, pagers, and laptops behind, they float for 60 miles through stark desert canyons, whitewater rapids and some of the best trout-fishing in America. But this is also a journey of another sort, an exploration of the many ways in which technology has altered how human beings experience each other and the world around them.

We live today in the most connected society in history, and yet our sense of isolation has never been more acute. We communicate megabytes of data, but somehow knowledge or wisdom still escape us. The cell phone is our tool, our servant, but it is also a barbaric interloper that we have not yet dared to tame.

In his finely tuned prose, Bookman contrasts the rhythm of life on the Deschutes with the increasingly fragmented and chaotic pace of our electronic age and reveals how the momentum of technology often breaks the flow of life. Our time is segmented into tasks to be completed; our personal interactions often take place behind a flashing cursor; our focus is "faster," not "better." Transfixed by the marvels of technology, we've overlooked its profound impact on our community.

Neither a technophobe nor Luddite, Bookman accepts that technological change is inevitable and desirable. But in Caught in the Current, he also warns that we should not become passive subjects of that change, allowing ourselves to be tossed like helpless driftwood in the current.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Science tells us what is. Technology tells us what can be. But neither can tell us what ought to be.

As a science and technology journalist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jay Bookman has witnessed some of the most remarkable and exciting advances in human history-supercomputers, cyborgs, genetic engineering. Like the rest of us, though, he has also watched as ever-more sophisticated tools intended to make our lives easier and less stressful have often done the opposite. The problem, he says, lies not in our tools, but in ourselves.
In Caught in the Current, Bookman and four friends embark on their annual rafting trip down the Deschutes River in central Oregon. Leaving cell phones, pagers, and laptops behind, they float for 60 miles through stark desert canyons, whitewater rapids and some of the best trout-fishing in America. But this is also a journey of another sort, an exploration of the many ways in which technology has altered how human beings experience each other and the world around them.

We live today in the most connected society in history, and yet our sense of isolation has never been more acute. We communicate megabytes of data, but somehow knowledge or wisdom still escape us. The cell phone is our tool, our servant, but it is also a barbaric interloper that we have not yet dared to tame.

In his finely tuned prose, Bookman contrasts the rhythm of life on the Deschutes with the increasingly fragmented and chaotic pace of our electronic age and reveals how the momentum of technology often breaks the flow of life. Our time is segmented into tasks to be completed; our personal interactions often take place behind a flashing cursor; our focus is "faster," not "better." Transfixed by the marvels of technology, we've overlooked its profound impact on our community.

Neither a technophobe nor Luddite, Bookman accepts that technological change is inevitable and desirable. But in Caught in the Current, he also warns that we should not become passive subjects of that change, allowing ourselves to be tossed like helpless driftwood in the current.

More books from St. Martin's Press

Cover of the book Believe No One by Jay Bookman
Cover of the book The Summer I Met Jack by Jay Bookman
Cover of the book One Was a Soldier by Jay Bookman
Cover of the book The Scent of Murder by Jay Bookman
Cover of the book The Animal Lover's Guide to Changing the World by Jay Bookman
Cover of the book The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump by Jay Bookman
Cover of the book The Devil in Bellminster by Jay Bookman
Cover of the book Hotel on Shadow Lake by Jay Bookman
Cover of the book Killer Stuff by Jay Bookman
Cover of the book The Perfect Liar by Jay Bookman
Cover of the book Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman by Jay Bookman
Cover of the book Stay Younger, Smarter, Healthier by Jay Bookman
Cover of the book Hope in a Jar by Jay Bookman
Cover of the book Isabella Blow by Jay Bookman
Cover of the book Chunks by Jay Bookman
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy