Comments on: Summer reading: Will Free be a bestseller or a long tailer? http://www.RexBlog.com/2009/06/29/19646?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=summer-reading-will-free-be-a-bestseller-or-a-long-tailer Rex Hammock's Blog Sun, 15 Jan 2012 04:37:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Rex Hammock http://www.RexBlog.com/2009/06/29/19646/comment-page-1#comment-340109 Rex Hammock Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:11:29 +0000 http://www.RexBlog.com/2009/06/29/19646#comment-340109 Thanks, Aaron. I think I'll stick with fiction and historical non-fiction. Thanks, Aaron. I think I’ll stick with fiction and historical non-fiction.

]]> By: Aaron Pressman http://www.RexBlog.com/2009/06/29/19646/comment-page-1#comment-340106 Aaron Pressman Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:59:01 +0000 http://www.RexBlog.com/2009/06/29/19646#comment-340106 On some level, it's just ridiculous to have to read these criticisms coming from Gladwell, the guy who made his reputation and his fortune oversimplifying and overhyping ideas like the broken windows theory of policing (completely discredited by subsequent research), intuitive decision-making (wasn't even convincing for the whole 200-page book) and the full-court press (please, please fact check your college basketball anecdotes). His piece about Enron, focusing the blame on high intelligence instead of low morals, looks sillier with every passing year. Chris Anderson may occasionally veer into the same territory but I am a bit surprised at the harsh reaction his book has received. I guess some journalists are really sensitive about the decline of their/my industry. Blah. If I have to read the out-of-context, half-missing 1984 quote from Stewart Brand that "information wants to be free" one more time, I'm going to throw up. The full quote is: "On the one hand information wants to be expensive, because it's so valuable. The right information in the right place just changes your life. On the other hand, information wants to be free, because the cost of getting it out is getting lower and lower all the time. So you have these two fighting against each other." On some level, it’s just ridiculous to have to read these criticisms coming from Gladwell, the guy who made his reputation and his fortune oversimplifying and overhyping ideas like the broken windows theory of policing (completely discredited by subsequent research), intuitive decision-making (wasn’t even convincing for the whole 200-page book) and the full-court press (please, please fact check your college basketball anecdotes). His piece about Enron, focusing the blame on high intelligence instead of low morals, looks sillier with every passing year.

Chris Anderson may occasionally veer into the same territory but I am a bit surprised at the harsh reaction his book has received. I guess some journalists are really sensitive about the decline of their/my industry. Blah. If I have to read the out-of-context, half-missing 1984 quote from Stewart Brand that “information wants to be free” one more time, I’m going to throw up. The full quote is:

“On the one hand information wants to be expensive, because it’s so valuable. The right information in the right place just changes your life. On the other hand, information wants to be free, because the cost of getting it out is getting lower and lower all the time. So you have these two fighting against each other.”

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