{"product_id":"the-digital-and-its-discontents-aden-evens-9781517916329","title":"The Digital and Its Discontents","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA groundbreaking critique of the digital world that analyzes its universal technological foundations\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e Whence that nagging sense that something in the digital is amiss--that, as wonderful as our devices are, time spent on smartphones and computers leaves us sour, enervated, alienated? \u003ci\u003eThe Digital and Its Discontents\u003c\/i\u003e uniquely explains that worry and points us toward a more satisfying relationship between our digital lives and our nondigital selves, one that requires a radical change in the way we incorporate technology into our lives. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Aden Evens analyzes universal technological principles--in particular, the binary logic--to show that they encourage certain ways of thinking while making others more challenging or impossible. What is out of reach for any digital machine is \u003ci\u003econtingency, \u003c\/i\u003e the ontological principle that refuses every rule. As humans engage ourselves and our world ever more through digital machines, we are losing touch with contingency and so banishing from our lives the accidental and unexpected that fuel our most creative and novel possibilities for living. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Taking cues from philosophy rather than cultural or media theory, Evens argues that the consequences of this erosion of contingency are significant yet often overlooked because the same values that make the digital seem so desirable also make contingency seem unimportant--without contingency the digital is confined to what has already been thought, and yet the digital's ubiquity has allowed it to disguise this inherent sterility. Responsive only to desires that meet the demands of its narrow logic, the digital requires its users to practice those same ideological dictates, instituting a hegemony of thought and value sustained by the pervasive presence of digital mechanisms. Interweaving technical and philosophical concepts, \u003ci\u003eThe Digital and Its Discontents\u003c\/i\u003e advances a powerful and urgent argument about the digital and its impact on our lives. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRetail e-book files for this title are screen-reader friendly.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Aden Evens, Alexander R. Galloway\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1517916321\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781517916329\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Minnesota Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/27\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 264\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.81lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.45h x 5.50w x 0.64d","brand":"Aden Evens","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44890711687423,"sku":"9781517916329","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_58ec4330-1d24-4151-891a-1fdab7a08f26.jpg?v=1709739809","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-digital-and-its-discontents-aden-evens-9781517916329","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}