In Emergency, Break Glass

Starred review from March 28, 2022
Anderson (The Internet Police), deputy editor at Ars Technica, explains in this unorthodox and often funny guide what Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy has to say about coping with modern technology and information overload. The author found in Nietzsche’s work a way to reclaim his life from an endless stream of emails and media, particularly via the philosopher’s belief that creation gives life purpose. “Ease, comfort, pleasure—they are all fine as far as they go, but they are certainly not life’s point; creative exertion, even struggle, makes life matter,” Anderson writes, contending that technology has bred contentment but not happiness because it has reduced opportunities for original thought. To forge a more meaningful life, the author recommends taking Nietzsche’s advice to “sit as little as possible” and engage in outdoor physical activities, which foster presence. Anderson finds in Nietzsche’s “hostility against new books” a prescription for deep-reading favorites rather than indiscriminately consuming digital and print media. Unconventional arguments (read less, forget more) and Anderson’s facility in distilling the useful from Nietzsche’s writings while tossing the “bad, cruel or juvenile” breathe some refreshing originality into the screen obsession discourse. This is a must-read for anyone overwhelmed by the Information Age.