My review of "What Tech Calls Thinking" by Adrian Daub

What Tech Calls Thinking: An Inquiry into the Intellectual Bedrock of Silicon Valley by Adrian Daub
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an exposition of the origin and history of the ideas that fuel Silicon Valley Techies. Specifically the billionaires that influence the culture of the executives, engineers, as well as the press.

I liked the non-obvious insights and learning about Mimetic theory as a tech worker myself, a lot of the content did not come as a surprise. I am aware that Silicon Valley is not dominated by liberal thought, contrary to what the right-wing media decrees, there are a lot of conservatives in tech.

The author could not hide his disdain for S.V. and the ideals they spouse. At times it felt like he was stretching things a bit. I am aware that I have my biases but still, the author errs on the side of "tech people suck" a bit too much. I get that hyper-capitalism yields inequality that hurts real people. I am not a fan of causing harm. I just think that the arguments the author makes sometimes feel like he's reaching too far. That's just me. This doesn't invalidates the main message though, the things that tech calls thinking is not a new or innovative as you may think.

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