Comments on: Are You An Internet Optimist or Pessimist? The Great Debate over Technology’s Impact on Society

By: Andrew McAfee on Digital Innovation, Employment and Productivity

Andrew McAfee on Digital Innovation, Employment and Productivity — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:02:07 +0000

[...] New York Times“Race Against the Machine* and TGS, a comparison”, Marginal Revolution“Are You An Internet Optimist or Pessimist? The Great Debate over Technology’s Impact on Soc…, Technology Liberation [...]

By: Are We Too Plugged In? Distracted vs. Enhanced Minds [Singularity Hub, originally published 8/26/10] | Firelit

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:20:02 +0000

[...] neurology and behavioral science. You can get an interesting overview of that recent history in this article by Adam Thierer. The plasticity of the brain is impressive, we are creatures designed to adapt. Adjusting to new [...]

By: Information Revolutions & Cultural / Economic Tradeoffs

Information Revolutions & Cultural / Economic Tradeoffs — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 13:18:36 +0000

[...] technological change on our culture and economy. I have called this middle ground position “pragmatic optimism.” In my Forbes essay, however, I was in full-blown pollyanna mode. That doesn’t mean I [...]

By: Internet: Optymiści vs Pesymiści « Komunikowanie – Nowe Media – Internet

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:20:25 +0000

[...] W języku angielskim: obszerny esej na temat tego, czy jesteśmy optymistami czy pesymistami Internetu [...]

By: Important Cyberlaw & Info-Tech Policy Books (2011 Edition)

Important Cyberlaw & Info-Tech Policy Books (2011 Edition) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 22:08:31 +0000

[...] ways of doing business. It’s a common theme in Net policy book these days, as I have noted here before. I found the Pariser and Vaidhyanathan books to be extremely problematic [read my reviews]. [...]

By: HE’LL BE BACK, BUT WITH A SHOTGUN OR WITH FLOWERS? « uilregit

HE’LL BE BACK, BUT WITH A SHOTGUN OR WITH FLOWERS? « uilregit — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 15:14:03 +0000

[...] 30+ mind you) will try and say things like “what technology will undo”, “the cult of amateur on professional media”…, while typing on their computers using Microsoft Word and publishing their thoughts on the [...]

By: “Adventure Windows” Revisited: Why We Struggle with New Trends & Technologies

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 14:21:17 +0000

[...] as I point out in my old “Net optimists vs. pessimisms” essay and subsequent book chapter, you can actually trace this debate all the way back to the well-known [...]

By: Sarkozy, Facebook, Moral Panics & the Third-Person Effect Hypothesis

Sarkozy, Facebook, Moral Panics & the Third-Person Effect Hypothesis — Tue, 31 May 2011 14:18:02 +0000

[...] on display in the work of some of the “Internet pessimists” I have written about here, as well as in many bills and regulatory proposals floated by lawmakers. Which brings us back to [...]

By: Doctorow’s Definition of “Techno-Optimism” Is Full of Fear & False Choices

Tue, 03 May 2011 16:29:26 +0000

[...] spent a great deal of time here defending “techno-optimism” or “Internet optimism” against various [...]

By: Noonan on How the Internet Improves Political Rhetoric & Knowledge

Noonan on How the Internet Improves Political Rhetoric & Knowledge — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 15:41:11 +0000

[...] readers know of my generally bullish, optimistic outlook regarding the Internet’s impact on society, economy, and even politics. On that last [...]

By: Enough with the tech pessimism

Enough with the tech pessimism — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 19:19:29 +0000

[...] Anxiety about the internet started a while ago too, which Adam Thierer has thoroughly and efficiently documented. [...]

By: The Case for Internet Optimism, Part 1: Saving the Net From Its Detractors

The Case for Internet Optimism, Part 1: Saving the Net From Its Detractors — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 18:58:19 +0000

[...] be familiar with these themes since I sketched them out in previous essays here such as, “Are You an Internet Optimist or Pessimist?” and “Two Schools of Internet Pessimism.”) The second essay is [...]

By: Old Future Shock Documentary Reflects on Same Pessimistic Fears We Hear about Today

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 15:43:59 +0000

[...] 1970 book, Future Shock. The documentary, like the book, focuses on many of the themes we hear Internet optimists and pessimists debating all the time today: “information overload,” excessive consumerism, [...]

By: Orson Scott Card’s Pragmatic Internet Optimism

Orson Scott Card’s Pragmatic Internet Optimism — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 03:50:44 +0000

[...] optimism” I’ve written about here before in my essays about the ongoing battle between Internet optimists and pessimists. I’ve tried to articulate a sort of middle ground position in this debate that embraces the [...]

By: | Geilt's Blog

| Geilt's Blog — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 00:08:22 +0000

[...] social network may affect your offline social life, which was based on an article study about Cyberoptimism and Cyberpessimism. My thoughts on the topic of wether I am a Cyber Optimist or Cyber [...]

By: The 10 Most Important Info-Tech Policy Books of 2010

The 10 Most Important Info-Tech Policy Books of 2010 — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 05:13:40 +0000

[...] look at the impact of the Internet and digital technology on our lives, culture, and economy. Like other Net skeptics, Lanier worries about the loss of individuality, the rise of “mob” behavior, the [...]

By: Don’t Keep Fighting the Last Battle « Innovation Leadership Network

Don’t Keep Fighting the Last Battle « Innovation Leadership Network — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 08:05:31 +0000

[...] world goes back to the way it used to be. It never does. Overall, this can be either good or bad (see the fights between internet pessimists and optimists, for [...]

By: Blayne Sucks » Blog Archive » Still At The Beginning

Blayne Sucks » Blog Archive » Still At The Beginning — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:07:29 +0000

[...] not familiar with the concept of an Internet optimist or an Internet pessimist, here are a couple paragraphs from Adam Thierer introducing the concepts: The cycle goes something like this. A new technology appears. Those who [...]

By: « Gadget season Outpost19

« Gadget season Outpost19 — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 06:37:00 +0000

[...] almost optimist versus pessimist. (Their roles are outlined in an essay at The Technology Liberation Front, which positions the two writers within twenty years [...]

By: The Sad State of Cyber-Politics

The Sad State of Cyber-Politics — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:31:23 +0000

[...] it comes to technology policy, I’m usually a fairly optimistic guy. But when it comes the technology politics, well, I have my grumpier moments. I had at [...]

By: Are You An Internet Optimist or Pessimist? The Great Debate over Technology’s Impact on Society

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 22:46:21 +0000

[...] by Adam Thierer on January 31, 2010 · 13 Comments [...]

By: A Comment on Tim Wu’s Critique of Sunstein’s Internet “Fragmentation” Thesis

Sat, 16 Oct 2010 19:34:40 +0000

[...] a short history of cable television and it includes a brief discussion of a favorite theory of many Internet pessimists: the notion that the increased personalization or customization that Internet brings us will lead [...]

By: Milton Mueller’s new book, Networks and States, is out

Milton Mueller’s new book, Networks and States, is out — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 19:39:35 +0000

[...] a fan of Net-related political taxonomies and philosophical paradigms, I couldn’t help but quickly jump ahead to the very interesting concluding chapter on [...]

By: Modernizers, Preservationists and Innovation « Innovation Leadership Network

Sat, 09 Oct 2010 20:40:20 +0000

[...] his ongoing major theme comparing internet optimists and pessimists. He has written a series of very interesting posts assessing the arguments of the pessimists that think that the impact of the internet on society is [...]

By: PFF Closes Doors after 17-Year Run

PFF Closes Doors after 17-Year Run — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 22:09:20 +0000

[...] As for me, well, as the old country song goes… “it’s time to stop thinkin’ and start drinkin’.” I’ll still be blogging here on occasion, but for now, I think I will enjoy a few weeks of unemployment and fill my time with bourbon, cigars, and marathon video game sessions. Or maybe I’ll get back to writing that book I just can’t seem to finish. [...]

By: “Are you really there?” — How not to become specatators of our lives « The Frailest Thing

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:32:33 +0000

[...] and take note. Lanier qualifies as an Internet pessimist in Adam Thierer’s breakdown of The Great Debate over Technology’s Impact on Society, but he is an insightful pessimist with a long history in the tech industry. Unlike other, often [...]

By: Are We Too Plugged In? Distracted vs. Enhanced Minds | Singularity Hub

Are We Too Plugged In? Distracted vs. Enhanced Minds | Singularity Hub — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:30:41 +0000

By: Can Technology Optimists and Pessimists Get in the Same Room? | iTAX – tax news

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 01:06:40 +0000

[...] I blogged about earlier, as well as the people mentioned in Adam Thierer’s great summary “Are You an Internet Optimist or Pessimist?” I’d love to hear the pessimists discuss their ideas with Techonomists (myself happily [...]

By: Technology Sabbaths and Other Strategies for the Digitized World | GCDSJ.COM

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 11:11:37 +0000

[...] a remarkably helpful post (complete with charts), “Are You An Internet Optimist or Pessimist? The Great Debate over Technology’s Impact… Adam Thierer surveys the major voices in the debate and proposes a pragmatic middle ground between [...]

By: Technology Sabbaths and Other Strategies for the Digitized World « The Frailest Thing

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:32:23 +0000