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wrenl's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this book. You can tell Maeda is having a lot of fun with this book. Each chapter is explained beautifully in simple terms. There is copious usage of simile and metaphor which makes hard to understand concepts digestible. I learned a lot and am so happy to have a greater perspective on computation. It's a balance of people and tech. We cannot forget the people behind the machines
resing's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
This book speaks to me because I relate with the author and his desire to broaden the accessibility of software design. His varied background in design, computer science, and business might not be typical, but he challenges the idea that it should be.
If you read this book, you'll be encouraged to look beyond just your own specialty. The world needs more people who see how to do it and apply it to every aspect of human life. Otherwise, specialists risk going so deep into a particular area like AI might not be able to see what they're missing. Really, this is a book that encourages everyone to have the confidence to dig deeper below the surface of the tools powered by software that almost everyone uses today and will only see more use in the future.
If you read this book, you'll be encouraged to look beyond just your own specialty. The world needs more people who see how to do it and apply it to every aspect of human life. Otherwise, specialists risk going so deep into a particular area like AI might not be able to see what they're missing. Really, this is a book that encourages everyone to have the confidence to dig deeper below the surface of the tools powered by software that almost everyone uses today and will only see more use in the future.
ben_smitty's review
4.0
Madea's book is a good introduction to the power of computers and how they have changed markets, institutions, and design principles. Yet Maeda reminds his readers and computational thinkers that machines will only exacerbate human biases if we abandon principles of compassion, empathy, and understanding. So while computers can help us tremendously, Maeda also notes how we can and should remain "human" in our interactions via computers, even as we are tempted to turn customers into statistics and other forms of abstractions.
marcelo_fontoura's review against another edition
3.0
Maeda’s work is an attempt to initiate the wider public in the computational world. The idea is not to teach programming, but to demonstrate how a computer thinks and works, and what are its main principles.
Although it’s an accessible work, and it succeeds in using a language tailored to a wider audience, it lacks a certain coherence. The chapters seem to be somewhat disconnected. Of course they are talking about the same subject, but more editing would be beneficial. For instance, the chapter Machines can be Instrumented covers very different aspects and reads slow. Also, the chapter Machines are Living takes too long to get to the point, and the relationship to the arts is not so clear.
Overall, the book brings important discussions, and where it wins the most is in its accessible language. It has some good parts to use in classroom, especially the chapter on lean startup. However, the author may seem a bit deterministic in some parts, for example when he talks about AI and its impacts. It seems he doesn’t take into account economic, social and cultural factors. When talking about what machines can achieve, he sometimes doesn’t show any skepticism (for example, when describing how the cloud suggests shows and books for us with “scientific accuracy”, or when citing the famous theory of Singularity). Being a designer, Maeda is indeed interested in the humanistic side of technology, but sometimes that doesn’t appear.
An interesting book of science divulgation, and one that can be useful in some contexts, but could use a little editing to be more to the point.
Although it’s an accessible work, and it succeeds in using a language tailored to a wider audience, it lacks a certain coherence. The chapters seem to be somewhat disconnected. Of course they are talking about the same subject, but more editing would be beneficial. For instance, the chapter Machines can be Instrumented covers very different aspects and reads slow. Also, the chapter Machines are Living takes too long to get to the point, and the relationship to the arts is not so clear.
Overall, the book brings important discussions, and where it wins the most is in its accessible language. It has some good parts to use in classroom, especially the chapter on lean startup. However, the author may seem a bit deterministic in some parts, for example when he talks about AI and its impacts. It seems he doesn’t take into account economic, social and cultural factors. When talking about what machines can achieve, he sometimes doesn’t show any skepticism (for example, when describing how the cloud suggests shows and books for us with “scientific accuracy”, or when citing the famous theory of Singularity). Being a designer, Maeda is indeed interested in the humanistic side of technology, but sometimes that doesn’t appear.
An interesting book of science divulgation, and one that can be useful in some contexts, but could use a little editing to be more to the point.
thatstacytaylor's review against another edition
4.0
I’m clearly not the target audience of this book, as most of the topics discussed were things I’m already familiar with. I could see it being a good primer for less tech-savvy folks trying to understand the way that technology rules our lives, but I question how many of them are likely to discover and read this book.
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