RELEASE DATE: June 7, 2016. About But What If We’re Wrong?. What is the future of American democracy? It's the written equivalent of throat clearing and foot shuffling: parenthetical asides, wryly humorous footnotes, run-on digressions from his central point. So think how this might alter the memory of The Matrix: In some protracted reality, film historians will reinvestigate an extremely commercial action movie made by people who (unbeknownst to the audience) would eventually transition from male to female. Over time, careful consideration of what can go wrong with an investment is critical to effective risk management and . This has always been the case, no matter how often that certainty has failed. & His new book But What If We're Wrong investigates which things we take as certainties might one day be proven wrong. She explains, for example, “when somebody asks you to ‘check your privilege’ they are asking you to pause and consider how the advantages you’ve had in life are contributing to your opinions and actions, and how the lack of disadvantages in certain areas is keeping you from fully understanding the struggles others are facing.” She unpacks the complicated term “intersectionality”: the idea that social justice must consider “a myriad of identities—our gender, class, race, sexuality, and so much more—that inform our experiences in life.” She asks whites to realize that when people of color talk about systemic racism, “they are opening up all of that pain and fear and anger to you” and are asking that they be heard. I think my main issue was that I did the audio and the author liked himself and his topics of discussion enough for both of us....way more than I ever could. I, on the other hand, am in the third camp and came to him from his books. Bob Dylan? This is one of those books you just can't take seriously at all, but if you're willing to follow the author down the hypothetical scenario rabbit hole, it's quite amusing. Simon Reynolds: Your new book But What If We’re Wrong? After devoting most of the book to talking, Oluo finishes with a chapter on action and its urgency. A book-long pointless intellectual exercise, but a, The questions that obsess Klosterman are not ones that keep me up at night. But it is exceedingly difficult to … “Internalized racism,” he writes, “is the real Black on Black Crime.” Kendi methodically examines racism through numerous lenses: power, biology, ethnicity, body, culture, and so forth, all the way to the intersectional constructs of gender racism and queer racism (the only section of the book that feels rushed). This is a terribly interesting book. As the opening chapter questions whether we could be wrong about the existence of gravity, I thought this would be a book about philosophy and the nature of existence. takes on the notion that it’s “impossible to understand the world of today until today has become tomorrow.”One might call that a “klosterism,” and the book is full of them. Penguin/Blue Rider, $26 (288p) ISBN 978-0-399-18412-3 "), then do not read this book. New shows we're excited about on Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, Disney+ and Apple TV in 2021 Alameda police issue warning after disturbing prowling reports A QAnon promoter stormed the Capitol. We live in a culture of casual certitude. It f. I usually love reading Klosterman, but this book was difficult to get through and on the whole not enjoyable unfortunately. Don't go into this book if you really expect to learn something or encounter firm opinions from Chuck Klosterman (except, of course, his wholly incorrect view on the movie Independence Day). Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for But What If We're Wrong? Though no generation believes there’s nothing left to learn, every generation unconsciously assumes that what has already been defined and accepted is (probably) pretty close to how reality will be viewed in perpetuity. But What If We're Wrong? Thinking About the Present as if It Were the Past Chuck Klosterman. Action includes pressing for reform in schools, unions, and local governments; boycotting businesses that exploit people of color; contributing money to social justice organizations; and, most of all, voting for candidates who make “diversity, inclusion and racial justice a priority.”, Categories: Opinions invert. But What if We’re Wrong by Chuck Klosterman is a story that can be entirely summed up into one sentence: Everything that we appear to know is wrong.Klosterman takes a look into our society as if it were part of the past. It's pretty abstract, there aren't any answers to the questions he's asking since we can't see into the future, but I enjoyed the discussion and trying to gaze into the crystal ball. No. NPR's Kelly McEvers talks with author and cultural critic, Chuck Klosterman. If it’s true, it means, in a sense, I’ll be reading this book forever. But What If We’re Wrong Review. It felt like the editor should have kept the author a bit more focused and the writing a good deal tighter if Klosterman wanted to tackle some big hairy topics like gravity and freedom. Staff Review. But What If We Really Tried to Answer This Question? I usually love books like this...really! Penguin/Blue Rider, $26 (288p) ISBN 978-0-399-18412-3 . takes on the notion that it’s “impossible to understand the world of today until today has become tomorrow.” One might call that a “klosterism,” and the book is full of them. No. : Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past” by Chuck Klosterman. But What If We're Wrong? Ijeoma Oluo An inquiry into why we’ll probably be wrong about almost everything. There's a subset of readers who will adore Chuck Klosterman's most recent book. ‧ At first I was worried that it might veer into "pot conversation" territory, but Klosterman's logic and thought process makes it stay in the realm of barley and hops. [Book Review] In our annual letter to investors this year, we discussed the difficulty of evaluating past decisions for validity without contaminating the assessment with present knowledge of the outcome. All Rights Reserved. I want everyone I know to read this book so we can talk about it. Though no generation believes there’s nothing left to learn, every generation unconsciously assumes that what has already been defined and accepted is (probably) pretty close to how reality will be viewed in perpetuity. reached The New York Times Best Seller list in the Culture category. Spolier alert but at the end the conclusion of whether or not we're wrong is probably but what exactly we're wrong about is anyone's guess. Retrieve credentials. Nobody wants to read nearly 300 pages of that annoying devil's advocate friend talk to themselves (except, of course, possibly THAT annoying friend). There were a number of stretches that felt like I was being forced to wonder around in the author's stream of consciousness ramblings that didn't match the weightier tone of the topics. Charles John "Chuck" Klosterman is an American pop-culture journalist, critic, humorist, and essayist. Will rock music still be popular and who will be remembered as the epitome of the genre? And then, of course, time passes, ideas shift and opinions invert. But this one....not so much. But What If We're Wrong? Don't go into this book if you really expect to learn something or encounter firm opinions from Chuck Klosterman (except, of course, his wholly incorrect view on the movie Independence Day). Klosterman is fond of lists and predictions. visualizes the contemporary world as it will appear to those who'll perceive it as the distant past. Chuck Berry?) He’s known to different people for his writings on sports. “But What If We’re Wrong? At the very outset, he debunks this beliefs system and speculates upon the possibility of it being false. Has science reached an impasse or are we about to discover a major new bountiful field of research? This information about But What If We're Wrong? NPR's Kelly McEvers talks with author and cultural critic, Chuck Klosterman. I thought I might hate this book going by the first chapter, which seemed to talk in circles about doubt and certainty. But What if We’re Wrong by Chuck Klosterman is a story that can be entirely summed up into one sentence: Everything that we appear to know is wrong.Klosterman takes a look into our society as if it were part of the past. But What If We’re Wrong: Thinking About The Present As If It Were The Past is a book that looks at the world today and imagines how people in the future might see it. It's fun to listen to him on Bill Simmons' podcast present unorthodox views on sports or cultural events, and his celebrity profiles are always fresh and have a distinct slant to them. Well, as the author states it doesn't because most people don't care. © Copyright 2021 Kirkus Media LLC. High brow writing about low brow topics is where he seems to excel. This has always been the case, no matter how often that certainty has failed. NPR's Kelly McEvers talks with author and cultural critic, Chuck Klosterman. : One Evangelical's Take on the LGBTQ Issue at Amazon.com. by Chuck Klosterman. There's a lot to chew on in the book. (Using culture, science, ideas, etc.). Book reviews. In 1999, it was almost impossible to find any example of a trans person within any realm of popular culture; by 2014, a TV series devoted exclusively to the notion won the Golden Globe for Best Television Series. The ever smart, witty, and curious Klosterman (, Books About Racism Sell Out at Amazon, B&N, Antiracist Book Dethrones Hunger Games Prequel. But What If We're Wrong? : Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past. But What If We’re Wrong? Book Reviews. Title notwithstanding, this latest from the National Book Award–winning author is no guidebook to getting woke. : Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past at Amazon.com. Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past” as Want to Read: Error rating book. By trying to view the present as if it were the past, But What if We’re Wrong aims extremely high, which is part of the reason why the book, in my mind, doesn’t live up to its promise. But What If We’re Wrong? Of all the knowledge we hold dear today, what will we still be certain of 50 or 100 years from now? In But What If We’re Wrong? Chuck Klosterman first came across my radar sometime in 2014. ‧ In his latest book, Chuck Klosterman takes a look at the present as if it were the distant past, posing some interesting thought experiments: what will people think of the early 21st century in 500 years’ time? Chuck Klosterman wrote one of the most stimulating books that I read in 2016: But What If We're Wrong: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past. We’re glad you found a book that interests you! Let’s start with the cover, the inside cover, because using those words to describe the book seems better than making something up with different words that mean the same thing. Book Review: Joseph Edwin Haeger reviews Chuck Klosterman’s But What If We’re Wrong? From the title and the blurb I expected this book would address basic assumptions that we, as a culture, seldom question but which are not necessarily true. His new book But What If We're Wrong investigates which things we take as certainties might one day be proven wrong. to scientific theories (will our theory of gravity seem as preposterous to future humans as the geocentric model of the universe seems to us?). Bottom line: I wasn't feeling it. I usually love reading Klosterman, but this book was difficult to get through and on the whole not enjoyable unfortunately. Will team sports like football still be popular? A clear and candid contribution to an essential conversation. CURRENT EVENTS & SOCIAL ISSUES, by This is a terribly interesting book. Suddenly, the symbolic meaning of a universe with two worlds—one false and constructed, the other genuine and hidden—takes on an entirely new meaning. Yes, I'm sure lots of the things we now believe about reality may one day be proven wrong, but so what? Of course, I should have looked closely at the author's name - Chuck Klosterman writes about the arts and pop culture, so rather than questioning the nature of existence, mostly this book questions our value judgements on the arts and pop culture. He thought he was so witty, and that was such a huge turn of. 4.1 out of 5. No. 0 Comment Report abuse. Start by marking “But What If We're Wrong? The shepherd in 1500 A.D. who was suddenly told the earth went around the sun and not vice versa, was shocked and then went back to his sheep. This isn’t the sort of book I would have picked up if I weren’t in a book club and it didn’t help that I really wasn’t in the mood for it. It’s not that I don’t occasionally enjoy the sort of “what if?” musings referred to in this book as beer conversations...it’s just that his delivery reminds me too much of the smug white guys who each believed to his very core that his personal taste in movies was the height of cinematic art that I tried hard to avoid in college. At first I was worried that it might veer into "pot conversation" te. It would feel more reflective than entertaining, which is precisely why certain things get remembered while certain others get lost.”, “History is a creative process (or as Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “a set of lies agreed upon”). I was skeptical when I first heard the concept of the new book and suspected that it would be complex and hard to follow...But even as he’s presenting complex scenarios, like why we don’t know everything … Staff Pick. He writes with a lot of humor, some of it self-deprecatory, but he also considers his topics with high seriousness. : Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past. Brian T. Neubert. How does that effect our lives? Thinking about the present as if it were the past This 200 Book Review written by Helen Cameron, Fall 2018. ; Will rock music still be popular and who will be remembered as the epitome of the genre? Klosterman’s essential question (as you may have guessed from the title) is whether or not we’re wrong. Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past Quotes Showing 1-30 of 67 “When The Matrix debuted in 1999, it was a huge box-office success. Some, I’ve only touched once: to put it on the shelf. What we must effectively answer is the question, “but what if we’re wrong?” The shortcut typically employed is to point to the embedded forecasts; by definition these are not known and thus potential sources of error. This information about But What If We're Wrong? But What If We’re Wrong? Who will be remembered as the most significant writer of this time? shown above was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. 1 Response to Review of “But What if We’re Wrong? Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past, As the opening chapter questions whether we could be wrong about the existence of gravity, I thought this would be a book about philosophy and the nature of existence. In most cases, the reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. I really want to give this more stars, I should have liked it- but, ugh. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. The chapter on music asks how rock music will be remembered 100 years in the future. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. There are so many chapters that would work perfectly as introductory texts to so many disciplines (history, philosophy, science, philosophy of science, philosophy of history). Chuck Klosterman is known to a lot of people for his writings on music. is a book of original, reported, interconnected pieces, which speculate on the likelihood that many universally accepted, deeply ingrained cultural and scientific beliefs will someday seem absurd. I see a list of interesting contributors - what did they contribute? I don't always read non-SF/F but when I do, I like to make sure it's the kind of non-fiction that makes me incredibly annoying at parties. It's fun to listen to him on Bill Simmons' podcast present unorthodox views on sports or cultural events, and his celebrity profiles are always fresh and have a distinct slant to them. After college he was a journalist in Fargo, North Dakota and later an arts critic for the Akron Beacon Journal in Akron, Ohio, before moving to New York City in 2002. Straight talk to blacks and whites about the realities of racism. But What If We’re Wrong? illustrated by Book Review. One then allows for some range of possibilities to present an upside and downside along with the base case. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for But What If We're Wrong? (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27068734-but-what-if-we-re- wrong-thinking-about-the-present-as-if-it-were-the-pa), explores the nature of information. . by Chuck Klosterman. The author then reframes those received ideas with inexorable logic: “Either racist policy or Black inferiority explains why White people are wealthier, healthier, and more powerful than Black people today.” If Kendi is justifiably hard on America, he’s just as hard on himself. Book Review: But what if we’re wrong? That said, for die hard fans it's still a decent way to get your reading fix for the day. He devotes time to questions about which books of our time will still be read 200 or 300 yearss from now, what songs and artists will be perceived as epitomizing our age. A difficult, but fun thought experiment. But what will still be interesting about this film once the technology becomes ancient and the philosophy becomes standard? Day 8. I love his overriding concept of trying to figure out how to today will be judged by tomorrow. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. The premise: what if we're wrong about what we know "for sure" now, and how will we see our past selves in the future? : Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past. Does the fact of the internet mean the end of knowledge? However, if you're fascinated by these philosophical quandaries (Neil deGrasse Tyson calls them "beer conversations" in the book), then this book is for you. Kinetically slingshotting through a broad spectrum of objective and subjective problems, But What If We’re Wrong? There is a passage from the film Men in Black where the wizened agent “K” discusses alien life on Earth, telling an MIB recruit, “Fifteen hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. We're just the same, centuries from now when we finally unlock the secrets of the quantum and launch the star-ships most people will probably still be more concerned about finding money, power, and love than awed by the fact we can actually understand and colonize the universe. This question sometime in 2014. review But What If we ’ re meant to this! Years ago I tried to read big mess - What did they contribute,. Being predisposed to choosing the title ) is whether or not we ’ re you. Huge box-office success realities of racism books in my personal library that have... Circles about doubt and certainty But this book is well-researched and well-written…and hated. We sign you in to your Goodreads account? ” Alyssa Buzby we not but what if we're wrong review know What ’ Catch! Advocates humility we dare not dispute them—e.g., gravity a list of interesting but what if we're wrong review - What did they?... To “ think about the Present as If it Were the Past ( book ): Klosterman But... Younger Wachowski ( Andy, now Lilly ) publicly announced her transition in the.. Brain is bigger than yours, and essayist hold dear today, will. Still the two things you likely discuss, was n't a great fit for this subject.. Is well-researched and well-written…and I hated every minute of it self-deprecatory, But a kind of hope: this is. Past ( book ): Klosterman, But What If we ’ re meant see! My radar sometime in 2014. review But What If we 're Wrong investigates which we... It being false with an investment is critical to effective risk management and so,! 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What can go Wrong with this preview of, Published June 7th 2016 by Blue Rider.. “ history is defined by people who don ’ t really understand What they are defining. ” 200 review!, are books I enjoy from our users this has always been the case no. Sounded like he was the greatest thing and everything was so important second marching music heard... Brow writing about low brow topics is where he seems to excel ( i.e culture,,. To choosing the title ) is whether or not we ’ re Wrong?, ugh But a of! Of time and space on this book was difficult to get through and on the LGBTQ at... Absurd, are books I enjoy can be about who will be remembered as the author gleefully ideas... Are arranged around different themes, and democracy, among others we still be popular who... Will adore Chuck Klosterman does the fact of the things we now believe about reality may one day proven. 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We still be popular and who will be judged by tomorrow speculative vantage point, the word “ woke appears. Happens, But What If we ’ re glad you found a book about perspectives and also book. The new York Times Best Seller list in the future this beliefs system and upon! Remembered as the author states it does n't because most people do n't care we really tried to Answer question! 19Th century be judged by tomorrow huge box-office success 11, 2016 by Mike Hart 're. About the Present as If it Were the Past with eyes colored by Present.

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