Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology

"Technopoly" by Neil Postman focusses on how technologies influence cultures. Postman taught at NYU for decades. He was not anti-technology - he said we need technology like we need food - but he was critical. He believed we should be careful about the technologies we adopt and how we use them. "Technopoly" looks at the history of technology over thousands of years. It describes how societies can become monopolized by technology. It was published in 1992 but feels even more relevant today. Interesting fact: he wrote the book with pen and paper, without the help of a computer. He felt his writing was better that way. (Actually he wrote at least 20 books that way.)

I think it's important to think about the effect technology has on culture (both positive and negative). To that end, I would recommend _Technopoly_ by Neil Postman. (And optionally _Amusing Ourselves to Death_ by the same author -- it's more accessible but slightly less applicable to the software industry.)