[Thread: Book review] If you work in, are interested in, or want to know where technology is headed next you MUST READ Infinite Retina by @Scobleizer and @IrenaCronin /1 #spatialcomputing #augmentedreality #AR #VR #XR amazon.ca/s?k=9781838823…
So first, I should say I intended to blog a review but there's WAY too much good stuff in the book for one post. Instead, I'll review it by way of a few posts that lift off key sections of the book. Stay tuned. /2
I honestly believe Infinite Retina will be the book that all the other books will refer back to. It lays a marker in the sand. It says: here's where we've been, here's where we are, and here's where we're going. It will be the definitive snapshot of this time... /3
That moment just before something amazing happened. When our lives were transformed. When the paradigms for computing changed forever. It's a bit like The Soul of a New Machine but prospective instead of retrospective /4
The other thing that struck me was that it was a bit like reading Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs. But imagine Isaacson adding a second volume consisting of practical Harvard Business Review style case studies and tech summaries /5
Which brings me to my first point: Infinite Retina does a profound job of humanizing the story of spatial computing without skimping on deeper dives into the tech itself. It's speculative, perhaps, and philosophical in places and yet incredibly practical /6
It will appeal to both the geek and the lover of stories. And so it achieves an important goal: providing a concise clear-eyed view of spatial computing and what it's made up of, while letting the reader RELATE. /7
I mean, this is a book that jumps easily from Ansel Adams to Ross Finman and SLAM algorithms. You listen to an analog tape of Neil Young's Harvest Moon and ponder the loss of resolution that technology has brought - and wonder how to fix it. /8
The book gives a ton of detail on specific topics and market verticals. It has relatively deep dives on spatial mapping, computing architectures, self-driving cars, etc. And then explores how spatial computing will change retail, health, media and other industries. /9
You won't get How To's. This is big picture stuff supported by enough detail that you can 'grok' what it might mean to YOU. And so it becomes a road map for a new age. /10
Critically, the book looks at the issues that will arise from these technologies. It puts privacy and security in the context of Facebook and Cambridge Analytics, for example, making these explorations more real and concrete /11
So. Who should read it? Well. Everyone really. But especially anyone who wants to try to map their own expectations of the future against some kind of benchmark. We can guess where it's all headed or have an intuition. But how does my vision compare? /12
Infinite Retina gives us a benchmark against which to measure progress. It's a text book, a story, it has equal measures of optimism and caution. It helps me 'vet' my own thinking. It will help companies to identify their own strengths and weaknesses against the future. /13
Now, I'm thankful that the authors don't overplay the well-worn path of Whole Earth-ism. "What Technology Wants" to me isn't a vision of where technology is headed. It says more about its author and the 'stance' we find in Silicon Valley ("technology gonna be!") /14
The Infinite Retina talks instead about what they call the Prime Directive. In other words, the WHY of spatial computing, which they equate with "know(ing) how to better survive and how to better express ourselves by willfully creating and using tools for those purposes." /15
And honestly, I could write a book in response. There is common Valley through line from "they're tools" to "the tools are values neutral" which, thankfully, they temper with some pretty clear-eyed recognitions of the potential dangers ahead /15
(As a side note: one of the most fascinating concepts of the last decade, for me at least, was the concept of The Techne put forth by anthropologist Tom Boellstorff. I'll return to that topic - but simply, a greek term, and refers to our ability to create new PLACE) /16
But those are philosophical points. Important ones! The stance we take philosophically as spatial computing emerges as THE next computing platform is profoundly important. But in order to arrive at a stance we need a clear-eyed view of where we are now... /17
And to read the tea leaves of where we're headed. This is that book. Detailed, persuasive, clear-eyed, it evangelizes without being pollyannaish. Our understanding of spatial computing has its definitive text, the one we need for this moment. Read it. /end
