THE FORGETTING: UNDERSTANDING ALZHEIMER'S: A BIOGRAPHY OF A DISEASE.

Shenk, David

Science & Math

Harpercollins

Cyberpundit And Media Scholar David Shenk Launches A Trenchant And Informed Critique Of The Impact Of Data Smog -- Information Overload -- On Individual Well-Being And Our Society As A Whole. Picking Up Where Silicon Snake Oil And The Gutenberg Elegies Left Off, Shenk Skillfully Explodes The Rosy Myths Of The Technological Revolution, Points The Way Toward A Saner And More Meaningful Future, And Offers The Most Convincing And Thorough Rebuttal Yet Of The Overhyping Of The Information Age.
More Praise For Data Smog:
"Over The Past 150 Years, Humanity Solved The Problem Of Information Scarcity. In Solving It, We Created The Problem Of Information Glut, Incoherence And Meaninglessness. David Shenk'S Brilliant Book Names The Problem, Describes It, Explains It And -- God Bless Him -- Offers Us Help In Coping With It." 
- Neil Postman, Author, Technopoly And Amusing Ourselves To Death
"This Could Be The Silent Spring For The Digital Age. Data Smog Shows The Very Real Threats That We Now Face. We Ignore Them At Our Peril." 
- Simson Garfinkel, Columnist, Hotwired
"Data Smog Is Quite Wonderful...A Smart Warning By A Savvy Aficionado Of Cyber-Culture To Be Wary Of Too Much Of A Good Thing." 
 - Orville Schell, Dean, Graduate School Of Journalism, University Of California At Berkeley
"This Book Breaks New Ground. Here You Will Find A Public Ethic For An Era Of Too-Much Information, Delivered In A Succinct And Heroically Civil Style That Puts To Shame An Entire Shelf Of Books On The Coming Media Environment. Shenk Is A Citizen Writing For Other Beleaguered Citizens...Data Smog Is Really A Book About Democracy And What It Will Take To Keep That Troubled Idea Alive And Breathing In Years Ahead." 
- Jay Rosen, Director, Project On Public Life And The Press, New York University
"This Book Is An Oxygen Mask. Take It Along When You Need To Breathe. This Careful, Informed And Passionate Argument Should Take The Stuffing Right Out Of The Cheerleaders Of The (Indiscriminate) Information Age." 
 - Andrei Codrescu, Commentator, National Public Radio
 "Data Smog Offers A Rare Combination Of Extensive Research, Clear Thinking, Lucid Writing And Valuable Advice. It'S A Must For Anybody Feeling Overwhelmed But Underserved By Today'S Information Sources."
 - Edward Tenner, Author, Why Things Bite Back

Data Smog: Surviving the Information Glut

Computers & Technology

Networking & Cloud Computing

HarperOne

Media scholar ( and Internet Enthusiast ) David Shenk examines the troubling effects of information proliferation on our bodies, our brains, our relationships, and our culture, then offers strikingly down-to-earth insights for coping with the deluge.
 With a skillful mixture of personal essay, firsthand reportage, and sharp analysis, Shenk illustrates the central paradox of our time: as our world gets more complex, our responses to it become increasingly simplistic. He draws convincing links between data smog and stress distraction, indecision, cultural fragmentation, social vulgarity, and more.
But there's hope for a saner, more meaningful future, as Shenk offers a wealth of novel prescriptions—both personal and societal—for dispelling data smog.

Data Smog: Surviving the Information Glut Revised and Updated Edition

"David Shenk looks at the new face of our world with a curiosity and connection-making responsiveness that make him exhilarating to read. These are bits, takes, provisional sweeps at issues still coming into focus, but taken together they give us a startling glimpse of where we are. Shenk is so close to the present that most readers will mistake it for the future." ―SVEN BIRKERTS, author, THE GUTENBERG ELEGIES
"If the world of constant, instantaenous communication makes you a little nervous from time to time, David Shenk can explain why. This book is a very useful antidote to the endless praise lavished on the new electronic mediums. Read it slowly!" ―BILL McKIBBEN, author, THE AGE OF MISSING INFORMATION
In this provocative collection of essays, David Shenk expands his enlightened skepticism to include thoughts on the dangers of online journalism, the ethical implications of digital photography, and the misguided hopes for computers in the classroom. Shock-jocks, computerized toys, Microsoft-bashing, and genetic testing are all subject to his incisive and discerning criticism.
Is Shenk just another neo-Luddite determined to bash all things digital? Hardly. This self-described technology enthusiast―and avid fan of the Internet―is simply interested in clear-eyed analysis of how machines we use actually affect our lives. As one of the founders of the Technorealism movement, he insists that new technologies must be appraised for their ability to achieve traditional human ends, rather than embraced merely for novelty's sake. The End of Patience includes vignettes from Shenk's conversations with some of the most provocative technology thinkers of our time, including Mitch Kapor, Steven Johnson, Esther Dyson, Douglas Rushkoff and Steve Silberman.

The End of Patience: Cautionary Notes on the Information Revolution

Indiana University Press

Is true greatness obtainable from everyday means and everyday genes? Conventional wisdom says no, that a lucky few are simply born with certain gifts. The new science of human potential suggests otherwise. Forget everything you think you know about genes, talent, and intelligence, and take a look at the amazing new evidence. Here, interweaving cutting-edge research from numerous scientific fields, David Shenk offers a new view of human potential, giving readers more of a sense of ownership over their accomplishments, and freeing parents from the bonds of genetic determinism. As Shenk points out, our genes are not a “blueprint” that dictate individual destinies. Rather we are all the product of interplay between genes and outside stimuli—a dynamic that we can influence. It is a revolutionary and life-changing message.

The Genius in All of Us: New Insights into Genetics, Talent, and IQ

Self-Help

Success

Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

With irresistibly persuasive vigor, David Shenk debunks the long-standing notion of genetic “giftedness,” and presents dazzling new scientific research showing how greatness is in the reach of every individual. DNA does not make us who we are. “Forget everything you think you know about genes, talent, and intelligence,” he writes. “In recent years, a mountain of scientific evidence has emerged suggesting a completely new paradigm: not talent scarcity, but latent talent abundance.” Integrating cutting-edge research from a wide swath of disciplines—cognitive science, genetics, biology, child development—Shenk offers a highly optimistic new view of human potential. The problem isn't our inadequate genetic assets, but our inability, so far, to tap into what we already have. IQ testing and widespread acceptance of “innate” abilities have created an unnecessarily pessimistic view of humanity—and fostered much misdirected public policy, especially in education. The truth is much more exciting. Genes are not a “blueprint” that bless some with greatness and doom most of us to mediocrity or worse. Rather our individual destinies are a product of the complex interplay between genes and outside stimuli-a dynamic that we, as people and as parents, can influence. This is a revolutionary and optimistic message. We are not prisoners of our DNA. We all have the potential for greatness. From the Hardcover edition.

Behavioral Sciences

Random House Audio |

Quite wonderful...a smart warning by a savvy afficionado of cyber-culture to be wary of too much of a good thing. (Orville Schell)David Shenk's brilliant book names the problem, describes it, and - God bless him - offers us help in coping with it (Neil Postman) DATA SMOG begins with the author's own personal awakening from years of computer worship to the unwelcome side-effects from information mania. After confronting his own information anxieties and deflating his mislaid faith in the virtue of technology, he begins to see the entire world in a new light. Where before he viewed computers in the way they wished to be viewed, he now sees a technology industry whose raison d'etre is inducing a manic you're-not-keeping up anxiety; a culture getting hooked on the manic velocity of data and losing interest in slower, more thoughtful deliberation; and a world fragmenting to a perverse degree, losing its common information and drifting toward a less responsible democracy.

Data Smog

Reference

ABACUS +

An urgent and moving exploration of the Alzheimer’s epidemic, The Forgetting is a dazzling meditation on the nature of memory and self and on the disease that robs people of both. Alzheimer’s disease is a demographic time bomb. Since 1975, the number of Americans afflicted has risen from five hundred thousand to five million; over the next fifty years, an estimated eighty to one hundred million more people worldwide will succumb to it. But it is the story behind these numbers that makes The Forgetting such a landmark work. A magnificent synthesis of history, science, politics, psychology ,and profound human drama, the book explores the nature of a disease that attacks not merely memory but the very core of our human identity. Delving into such diverse areas as art history, literature, genetics, and neurobiology, David Shenk shows that Alzheimer’s particular terror, the gradual eradication of memory and of mind is as old as humankind itself. He convincingly posits that such historical figures as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Jonathan Swift and Frederick Law Olmstead were caught in the disease’s insidious grip. Moving portraits of contemporary patients, their families, and their caregivers drive home the sad pattern of regression Alzheimer’s exacts, a pathology that eerily mirrors child development in reverse. Yet Shenk offers a well of empathy and understanding for families striving to better understand and come to terms with their loss. With equal mastery Shenk charts the complicated race to find a cure. As scientists pursue a treatment worth billions of dollars, the brutal competition among them poses a serious threat to the traditional ethic of sharing vital research. But there are heartening signs of progress, and for the first time there is excitement among scientists that a cure may indeed be possible. Shenk eloquently calls Alzheimer’s “death by a thousand subtractions.” The Forgetting is at once a powerful examination of what this means and a forthright discussion of the impact this epidemic will have on the life of every reader.

The Forgetting: Alzheimer's: Portrait of an Epidemic

Parenting & Relationships

DOUBLEDAY

NATIONAL BESTSELLER A powerfully engaging, scrupulously researched, and deeply empathetic narrative of the history of Alzheimer’s disease, how it affects us, and the search for a cure. Afflicting nearly half of all people over the age of 85, Alzheimer’s disease kills nearly 100,000 Americans a year as it insidiously robs them of their memory and wreaks havoc on the lives of their loved ones. It was once minimized and misunderstood as forgetfulness in the elderly, but Alzheimer’s is now at the forefront of many medical and scientific agendas, for as the world’s population ages, the disease will touch the lives of virtually everyone. David Shenk movingly captures the disease’s impact on its victims and their families, and he looks back through history, explaining how Alzheimer’s most likely afflicted such figures as Jonathan Swift, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Willem de Kooning. The result is a searing and graceful account of Alzheimer’s disease, offering a sobering, compassionate, and ultimately encouraging portrait.

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Diseases & Physical Ailments

Why has one game, alone among the thousands of games invented and played throughout human history, not only survived but thrived within every culture it has touched? What is it about its thirty-two figurative pieces, moving about its sixty-four black and white squares according to very simple rules, that has captivated people for nearly 1,500 years? Why has it driven some of its greatest players into paranoia and madness, and yet is hailed as a remarkably powerful intellectual tool? Nearly everyone has played chess at some point in their lives. Its rules and pieces have served as a metaphor for society, influencing military strategy, mathematics, artificial intelligence, and literature and the arts. It has been condemned as the devil’s game by popes, rabbis, and imams, and lauded as a guide to proper living by other popes, rabbis, and imams. Marcel Duchamp was so absorbed in the game that he ignored his wife on their honeymoon. Caliph Muhammad al-Amin lost his throne (and his head) trying to checkmate a courtier. Ben Franklin used the game as a cover for secret diplomacy. In his wide-ranging and ever-fascinating examination of chess, David Shenk gleefully unearths the hidden history of a game that seems so simple yet contains infinity. From its invention somewhere in India around 500 A.D., to its enthusiastic adoption by the Persians and its spread by Islamic warriors, to its remarkable use as a moral guide in the Middle Ages and its political utility in the Enlightenment, to its crucial importance in the birth of cognitive science and its key role in the aesthetic of modernism in twentieth-century art, to its twenty-first-century importance in the development of artificial intelligence and use as a teaching tool in inner-city America, chess has been a remarkably omnipresent factor in the development of civilization.

The Immortal Game: A History of Chess, or How 32 Carved Pieces on a Board Illuminated Our Understanding of War, Art, Science and the Human Brain

Humor & Entertainment

Puzzles & Games

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Shenk, David. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Shenk, David

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Shenk, David. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

THE FORGETTING: UNDERSTANDING ALZHEIMER'S: A BIOGRAPHY OF A DISEASE.

Data Smog: Surviving the Information Glut

Data Smog: Surviving the Information Glut Revised and Updated Edition

The End of Patience: Cautionary Notes on the Information Revolution

The Genius in All of Us: New Insights into Genetics, Talent, and IQ

The Genius in All of Us: New Insights into Genetics, Talent, and IQ

Data Smog

The Forgetting: Alzheimer's: Portrait of an Epidemic

The Forgetting: Alzheimer's: Portrait of an Epidemic

The Immortal Game: A History of Chess, or How 32 Carved Pieces on a Board Illuminated Our Understanding of War, Art, Science and the Human Brain