A Digital, Scattered Future?

A Digital, Scattered Future? 

“The Age of Earthquakes” is, without a doubt, one of the more… interesting pieces of “writing” I’ve seen in some time. It uses its very unconventional style-  mixing various pop culture and social media images with sparse words of explanation- as a tool to showcase just how scattered and ephemeral the world is becoming as a result of the Internet. The book makes some very interesting claims about what a future with the Internet will hold and why, which are generally well supported by examples by how the world has changed already since its introduction.

Yet while I really enjoy the juxtaposition of “past vs. present” and “online vs. reality” within the piece, I can’t wrap my head around its lack of cohesion. There is a definite shift between the discussion future politics and future psychology- the ideas do connect and have a very obvious progression. However, they are still scattered and lack a flow that I feel would make the book more appealing to a wider audience. While this choppiness is likely an intentional stylistic choice by the authors to, again, represent the fleeting nature of modern memory, I do feel like it takes away from the message somewhat. If a reader is annoyed by the style, they may be less likely to pay attention to the greater message.

One thing I definitely appreciated was the made-up dictionary entries as a literary device- they manage to show by example just how quickly our minds and vocabularies are expanding, while also giving the explanations within more clout by making them seem more “official”.

In short, “The Age of Earthquakes” is a very unique piece of literature that poses some very interesting- and possibly uncomfortable- questions about the future of the digitized world we live in today.

(296 words)

Regan Ramsey
IB English HL 2
Hendricks 3A

The Age Of Earthquakes

  “The Age of Earthquakes” was overall, extremely captivating, this is mostly due to the way in which the authors utilize text in conjunction with photos to create a more impactful message. The main concepts of the work are organized in a way that mimics the internet, in that they are scattered but ultimately spiral in a latter of abstraction. Within itself, surfing the web is almost like a rabbit hole, with websites that lead to other websites and so on and so forth, the book replicates this by the way in which the concepts go more in depth as the book progresses. I noticed that the authors deliberately formatted the words on the page alongside images in order to entrance the reader but also further the message. I enjoyed the way each page was unique but also spiraled into the next, again, mimicking cyberspace its interconnectedness.

  A major flaw I noticed while reading was the fact that the writing is overtly biased, to show an extreme view of the present. It is effective in doing so however, I would’ve liked to see some sort of counterclaim. Additionally, some of the idea were so extreme, to the point where they were rendered unbelievable and irrelevant, for example, that the internet is causing hyperactivity. This idea seems like a bit of a stretch in terms of how applicable the rest of the novel is to our current society. Furthermore, another flaw with the book was how the images sometimes overpowered the words and didn’t seem to enhance them, the photo was actually detrimental in some cases to overall message making the page confusing.

  “The Age of Earthquakes” was overall thought provoking, in that it makes the reader question the implications of technology in society, and what is in store for future generations.

(Word Count: 300)

The Age of Questions

In the book, I noticed that the words in the story was not the only thing that was important, but also the details of the words and the background picture was crucial to create a meaning that endures to the current generation. If the picture had a black background and white text, the text seemed to be more important because of the pop of color rather than if the colors were reversed.

In addition, I found that the book introduced a repetition of phrases that a number was associated with the concept of time and the amount of time it takes for someone to comprehend one value and recognize its importance; it occurs with the amount of text messages sent and the "generations of I Phones" that are engineered to satisfy the consumers needs and wants.

The emphasis of time has no correlation to the title which confuses me because the book never talks about the earthquakes as a natural phenomenon, but it talks about social media and the impact it has on this generation of people from the standpoint of an older generation. Does the novel attempt to say that social media is shaking the earth because of the change of technology and the change of generations? The frustrating part of not knowing the answer is that while reading the book, the subject would change every page and very abruptly; one moment, there was an actual conversation while the next second it changes which can show the attention span of a human in this generation. Maybe it is similar to the events that occurs from one moment to another in an actual natural phenomenon, but that raises the question of what does the cover mean? Is the earth reforming because of human habits and the way we shape it?

(Word Count 300)

The Age of Earthquakes- An introspective look inside the digital world

The Age of Earthquakes- An introspective look inside the digital world 

By Sophia Blasco July 11th, 2018

Hendricks,3A

I primarily found The Age of Earthquakes unique in terms of its quirky, yet stylistic aesthetic that the authors cultivated. The book is scattered in thought and unconventional in its organization, craftily mimicking the plethora of unlinked thoughts that rush through the mind constantly. Yet, it is able to overall maintain unity in its claims and arguments. The visual appeal of this book is evident, evoking a sense of contemporary feel through its classic black and white photography. The photos complement the written words on the page, unifying the two spheres. The book is very compelling, discussing the infiltration of media in all aspects of life- political, social, personal- in an unorthodox manner. What piqued my interest was the vast variety of ¨multimedia¨ added in the attempt to evoke a distinct style, which ranged from definitions to google searches. This greatly helped mimic the visual facets of cyberspace, strengthening its claim of internet dominance within our society.

However, I personally found some flaws that weakened the intentions of the novel. I find that the diction is inconsistent, switching between a formal and casual vernacular. As well, the book ended rather abruptly, as the claim could have been explored more extensively. Another fault is that the text appeals mostly to the modern generation, and could be rather hard to comprehend for older audience members. Also, the bold photography occasionally overshadows the profound nature of the text.

This book evokes multiple questions about society, the internet, maintaining individuality, and how this all is balanced in the modern world. The Age of Earthquakes claims to tell us the answers to the problems presented, but in reality, only time will be able to answer this. However, its claims help bring consciousness and clarity within the sporadic nature of the digital world.

297 words