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Review title: Nothing New
Product review: This book can be summed up in two sentences: "People instinctivly react to artificial interactions (with computers and media) the same way they react to interactions in real life. This can be used to manipulate people."Except for the authors' pro-manipulation bias, this media=reality "equation" is nothing new - Steven Pinker talked about "new media and old brains" in his first book, published in the 1980's. Ted Nelson said that users instinctivly interact with computers "naturally" in "Thinkertoys", published in the 1970's. Even Arthur C. Clarke mentioned the phenomenon in "3010."In this book, the authors report on previously done social science research they have replicated and repackaged with a popular, marketing spin. Academics working in the social or cognitive sciences will find nothing new here. The authors enjoyed a brief heyday among dot-commers, but these were the same people who were buying $500 office chairs.Don't bother.
