A Network Orange: Logic and Responsibility in the Computer Age [Hardcover]

Marvin Levich (Author), H. Rheingold (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 8, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0387946470 | ISBN-13: 978-0387946474 | Edition: 1

The primary thesis of this book lies in the authors belief that the emergence of computers as an elemental force in our modern society must be viewed with sceptical - and sometimes negative - eye. Crandall and Levich, one a mathematician and scientist, the other a philosopher and proponent of the liberal arts, strive, however, to present a balanced viewpoint of both sides of this phenomenon, investigating and reflecting on the good and bad sides of this revolution, and seek meaning in this "Information Age." Their examination is performed in a manner divested of journalistic hyperbole, the incantations of self-serving oracular futurists, and the sales pitches of the software and hardware industries. This book explores those topics which constitute the underpinnings of the "Information Age", and asks two questions: 1.) Is the software, and hardware, of which our computers are made, capable of doing everything their enthusiasts would have us believe they can do?, and 2.) Will advances in these technologies be beneficial to the society in which they have become such an integral part? In separating the wheat from the chaff, the authors' goal is to provide readers with a much better understanding of the limitations of these new technologies, along with propositions for better use and implementation of them within the societal context.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Richard Crandall is currently the Chief Cryptographer of Apple Computer, Inc. In 1991 he received the national Computerworld-Smithsonian Award for achievement in the Science category. Crandall is the holder of several U.S. patents, including the Fast Elliptic Encryption (FEE) patent which has achieved wide usage in the cryptography field.

Marvin Levich is Professor of Philosophy at Reed College. He was named in the annual E. Harriss Harbison awards by the Danforth Foundation as one of the ten best scholar-teachers in the nation. Author of Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Criticism and numerous papers, including the first paper to arise from the liberal arts sector that was authored on a personal Macintosh computer, Levich has been influential in the design of academic software and in pioneering scholarly uses of the Internet.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 130 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (June 8, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387946470
• ISBN-13: 978-0387946474
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,065,752 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SImply brilliant, March 9, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: A Network Orange: Logic and Responsibility in the Computer Age (Hardcover)

That some subliterate IT professional, below, found this book "frustrating" is the best possible endorsement! A book for thinking people who understand computers -- and not, it seems, for computer jocks who don't understand how to think.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars intelligent and engaging, January 19, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: A Network Orange: Logic and Responsibility in the Computer Age (Hardcover)

Finally, a book that provides compelling arguments about the effects of information technology on our society. With all of the recent technology hype,it is a refreshing change to see a book that offers a much more balanced point of view. An absolute must-read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Emperor Has No Clothes, July 4, 2002

By 

Rachel Tozier (Brea, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Network Orange: Logic and Responsibility in the Computer Age (Hardcover)

Computers and networks are only silicon, wires and plastic. What is important, since they are changing our lives is not the technology, but rather, the potential. This book has nothing to do with processors, Moore's Law and bus architecture, yet it has everything to do with what you get when you take those and build machines and connect them into a pervasive network.

It's all about social impact, the undelivered promises of the technology, and debunking conventional thought (assumptions, really) about the value computers and networks bring to society. This is certainly a book for policy makers in business and government, educators and socially-aware technoligists.

After you're read this excellent, thought-provoking book, read "World Without Secrets: Business, Crime and Privacy in the Age of Ubiquitous Computing" by Richard Hunter. That book takes up where this one leaves off.