A inércia polar

by Paul Virilio

Examining how the `here and now′ of space, territory, the body, are being redefined by new technologies and how this undoes simplistic versions of the globalization thesis, Paul Virilio demonstrates how technology has made inertia the defining condition of modernity. An instantaneous present has replaced space and the sovereignty of territory; everything happens without the need to go anywhere. This book will be a key reference for students and scholars of the latest thinking in social theory.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Paul Virilio is a cultural theorist and urbanist. He is best known for his writings about technology as it has developed in relation to speed and power, with diverse references to architecture, the arts, the city and the military.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are good things in this book, interesting insights and it's hard to believe it was written in the late 1980s. some of the stuff Virilio says is truly visionary but a lot of what he predicts was also completely wrong and will stay wrong (e.g. the death of physical travel or our physical bodies becoming irrelevent-- hello selfie age, lookin at you here). the book also has whole chapters about cosmological time, which, if like me, you're not well versed in astrophysics, might give you a migraine. plus i didn't really see the benefit of these in the overall argument, probably because l didn't understand most of it and when the author came back to those ideas at the end of the book, they were equally confusing. maybe understanding the ideas of Einstein, Heisenberg and whoever else would have helped me to appreciate Virilio's argument, I don't know. I'm not even sure he's helped me make sense of my confused perception of time tbh. I have to think about it more but despite its 80 pages (the kind that feel like 300) I'm not sure I'd recommend it. Maybe a couplz of chapters, as he tends to repeat himself throughout. The most impact this book'll have on you is to make you see how technology bends your perception of time and of your environment. because we live in a computerised age, our brains and notions of time probably function v e r y differently from someone who'd have lived in the 1960s for instance. and the faster tech develops, the quicker future generations will become more and more different. Hope that makes sense.