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1. Thoughtful Analysis
   Well written and thoughtful analysis. A must read to understanding how technologists think and justify what they do. A must read for everyone.Terry Foster

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2. Thinking, right and wrong, in the technology age
   With the advent of the computer, a whole new era evolved around information processing and electronic communications. A veritable cornucopia of devices had to be imagined, designed, engineered, and produced. New ways had to be found to control these devices, to enable them to communicate with each other, and to serve the needs of humans. Suddenly, applied mathematics and advanced electrical engineering departed from academia and were thrust relentlessly into the real world. Technological change took off at a staggering, accelerating rate.A new community rapidly evolved, made up mostly of youngish people who somehow found ways to grasp a new body of concepts loosely grouped under the term, “technology,” commonly abbreviated as “tech.” That community took on the challenge of dreaming up and producing what we now refer to, simply, as “hardware” and “software.” At first, they built prototype devices, often single units, sometimes constructed in garages or home basements. Later, they built factories, huge international businesses, and giant industrial campuses.The people involved represented a very odd collection, indeed. Scientists and engineers with advanced degrees would be seen collaborating with quirky home hobbyists and somehow rough “crackpot” ideas became reality. Another perhaps less technical personality type would watch, perhaps from the sidelines, and decide that somebody needed to figure out how to market and sell the result. Other practical folks had the often nearly impossible task of how to produce these contraptions and how to scale them out in a way that could actually generate a profit. The people inhabiting the corporate offices were often a diverse international mix. In some cases, they could be seen firing Nerf guns over the cubical walls at each other at the oddest times. In some companies, the best way to fail your job interview was to show up for it in a suit and tie.It was a heady time and many instant millionaires were made. Silicon Valley became home to a great many such businesses.In What Tech Calls Thinking, author Adrian Daub explores some of the psychological and philosophical underpinnings of the technology industry. His book takes a romp through the minds of many of the people who created the tech community, many who succeeded beyond their wildest imaginings, and many who ended up betrayed, bankrupt, and duty-bound to try again and again.This is a thoughtful book, and I found it thoroughly enjoyable. Having lived through this period, actively embroiled in the depths of software development, some of Daub’s ideas rang true for me and I gained some worthwhile insights from reading it.I commend his discussion of these timely subjects to your eyes.Strongly recommended!

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3. Book arrived as described.
   Thanks.

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4. Interesting but unbalanced
   The book is organized around a number of concepts like disruption, drop out and failure that are part of the vocabulary around Silicon Valley. It connects these concepts to similar concepts from the sixties culture as well as from philosophy. Sometimes it works, as in the chapter about disruption. But in other cases the discussion totally devolves into a one sided critique that is at least debatable. For example, when discussing genius there is surely more than only Ayn Rand to consider. And the discussion about content is more complex than saying that the medium is the message. In places like these, the book looks more like a personal vendetta than an exploration of ideas. That makes it a bit of a missed opportunity. I’m sure that the author has a lot of relevant knowledge but his disdain for Silicon Valley culture gets in the way. But if you are willing to forgive this, the book does provide rich food for thought.

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5. It’s well researched and well written, highly recommended
   A very interesting and thought provoking book that challenge many of the ideas you heard when you’re talking in high tech.I helped to me to reflect of the reality of my work world and how easy the buzz can be a misunderstood concept.It’s well researched and well written, highly recommended.Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

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6. Inspiring Essay
   A surprisingly astute essay about ideas that are so often mentioned in the tech world, but evidently so rarely understood. It brings to mind a series of very inspiring lectures, which is perfectly adequate since the author is a professor at Stanford University. As Silicon Valley has more and more influence on our daily lives, I think it should be relevant for everybody.The book is a part of a very interesting series, FSG Original x Logic, which dissects the way technology functions in everyday lives.Thanks to the publisher, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

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7. Brilliant and insightful read. A very different perspective from what is consumed today. Deep research into the content. Loved the brevity in each chapter.

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8. For the most part I agree with the underlying messages of the book – Tech often tries to package their “innovation” in a grandoise picture of intellectualism, genius, disruption, and improvement in the human condition. Too often (i.e. >95% of the time) they fall far short of this, and create more harm than good.That said, the book itself is weak and poorly argued. The writer comes off as small-minded, clucking his tongue at those energetic STEM majors whom he so dislikes. For example, much of the book is formulaic and repetitive: there is almost a whole chapter complaining about Ayn Rand, as if we haven’t heard that before. In another angle he draws a very weak parallel between tech innovators being “masculine” and their consumers being “feminie” in one of these thinly veiled new-age insults where sexism is implied by the mere fact that men happen to be found in higher density in some sectors than others. Again, pathetic.Finally, the author takes an incredibly California-centric approach to the topic. Almost ALL discussion of history is about things that happened in his own back yard. More accurately the book should be titled “what Silicon Valley Calls Thinking”, since the current content in no way reflects the diversity of tech innovation happening around the world. A stand-out example of this is the authors insular view of his very own institution, Stanford. The VAST majority of references to scientific literature in the book are to his own colleagues at Stanford – somehow missing the fact that they only comprise a very small fraction of the world’s academic output. In doing so the author demonstrates the exact same shortsightedness and insular thinking that he accuses of his entrepreneurial counterparts in that very, very small corner of the world.All in all, the author constructs an elaborate and poorly argued gripe about a legitimate problem – tech’s inward-looking self-centrism – by writing an intensely inward-looking and self-centered book!

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9. I was looking for a book that examines philosophy behind the tech ideas, but this is just left-wing rambling about capitalism and marketing slogans used by tech companies.

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10. This book made me think. It is a well explained account from a historical perspective of the way Silicon Valley has hijacked language to persuade us that disruptive transformation, design thinking, free content, the gig economy and more are both necessary and desirable. Fascinating.

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11. A timely and carefully researched exploration of the dominance of certain intellectual strains and the jargon used by those in the tech industry to support their activities and sustain their hubris.

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