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If you loved
Books like The real world of technology
A prescient, deeply humanist exploration of how the systems we build end up building us. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with The real world of technology.
- contemplative
- sobering
- intellectually stimulating
- grounded
- 01
You are not a gadget
Jaron Lanier
A passionate, eccentric plea to reclaim your humanity from the flattening algorithms of the modern web.
- 02
What technology wants
Kevin Kelly
A sweeping, optimistic reframing of technology as a living, evolving force deeply intertwined with human destiny.
- 03
Hello world
Hannah Fry
A witty, eye-opening tour through the invisible code that runs our lives, balancing technological awe with a healthy dose of skepticism.
- 04
Technopoly
Neil Postman · 1992
A sharp, prophetic warning about the ways our tools have quietly become our masters, delivered with wit and humanist warmth.
- 05
How the World Really Works
Vaclav Smil
A bracing, data-drenched cold plunge into the physical realities and hidden infrastructures that keep modern civilization running.
- 06
Democratizing innovation
Eric von Hippel
An intellectually empowering exploration of how everyday users are quietly taking the reins of global innovation.
- 07
The medium is the massage
Marshall McLuhan
A dizzying, visual collision of text and image that playfully rewires your brain to see the invisible forces shaping modern consciousness.
- 08
The Glass Cage
Nicholas Carr
A thoughtful, cautionary exploration of how our increasing reliance on automation and screens is quietly reshaping the human experience.
- 09
Content
Cory Doctorow
An impassioned, geeky manifesto for the open internet that feels like a late-night debate with a brilliant hacker.
- 10
Technically Wrong
Sara Wachter-Boettcher
A sharp, validating wake-up call that pulls back the curtain on the biases baked into our everyday digital lives.
- 11
Citizen Science
Alan Irwin · 1995
A rigorous, foundational exploration of how everyday people can reclaim and reshape the scientific knowledge that governs their lives.
- 12
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
Shoshana Zuboff
A monumental, dread-inducing masterclass that provides the exact vocabulary needed to understand how the digital world is strip-mining human autonomy.
