This is a thoughtful review of Kevin Kelly's "What Technology Wants." The book itself is very thought-provoking, so much so that I haven't stopped thinking about it since reading it a month or so ago. The criticisms in this review are certainly valid, and this is one of those books I doubt anyone could agree 100% with, but what is missing from this review is an appreciation for Kelly's valiant attempt to grapple with the enormity of what technology has wrought, and the even greater enormity of what technology seems poised to do in the future. That's what kept me thinking since I put the book down and, while I am not sure I'll end up exactly where Kelly is, I have to give him a great deal of credit for a big think that really stimulated my synapses.
Thanks for the comment. You are right -- Kelly should be given some credit for trying to come to grips with really big issues. But I don't think his approach, which amounts to inflating technology into a cosmic, autonomous, and unstoppable force is the right one. It breeds passivity, and the opposite of that is what's needed.
