Mere Mortals Book Reviews

Mere Mortals Book Reviews


Why Television Kills Rationality | Amusing Ourselves To Death (Neil Postman)

August 03, 2023

Will TV be the death of us?

'Amusing Ourselves To Death' by Neil Postman is an argument of why television as a medium lessens rational discourse and ultimately is a bad trade-off for society. The first part focuses on the past, in particular how typography is serious and encourages critical thinking. The second part demonstrates how TV is predominantly about entertainment and is negatively effecting politics, education, religion and advertising.

I summarised the book as follows. "I loved this, but it's only for certain types of people. If you are fascinated by communication & languages, marketing & media or how society is impacted by change then you will like this. You'll also need a broad base to begin with as he covers many historical topics and references a lot of things."

I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!

Timeline:
(0:00) - Intro
(0:31) - Synopsis
(3:14) - The Medium: The way information is conveyed
(10:14) - Amusements: The seriousness of Huxleyan mindlessness
(22:03) - Observations/Takeaways
(28:12) - Summary

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