Ethan Russell’s Reviews > But What If We're Wrong? Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past > Status Update

I enjoy Klosterman’s contrarian disposition, his polemics, and authority. The argument against being certain of subjective facts is enthralling. Considering the apoplectic sentiment suffered by those impassioned pundits of suppositions, I believe those right amygdala types would find this book impossible to finish: It is too censorious of their basic assumptions, which are the content of much recent discourse.

Assuming we may be wrong is perfectly elucidated here. But being a little wrong isn't so bad. Allowing for the subjective to change, or to augment our current understanding of science and culture (counterintuitive as it seems) offers this reader some comfort. It's the difference between feeling you're right, when others say you're wrong, and those others actually being right. Klosterman's meditation is inspiring.

Klosterman’s shrewd analysis is sweeping. While noting sources whose debate is perpetual, his evidences and anecdotes reveal Rock’s identity. This debate authenticates his claims, saying “If experts can't decide whose name is most identical with the genre, how can anyone clarify what Rock signifies to future historians. But What if We're Wrong? brings clarity to the roiled task of prognosticating pop culture.

I enjoy the consideration of today's unrated authors becoming the future's Charles Dickens or Virginia Woolf! Maybe "commercial success will become an anchor," says Klusterman. Imagine the world where novels are marketed to niche communities rather than the reader at large. His prognostications are troubling but tremendous! I can't wait to read more.

Deceptively insightful! Klosterman’s contrarian views on how we oft misperceive the present due to personal biases—dead on. The idea of the "Contemporary Kafka" says, humanizing those minority groups who (while suffering injustice today) may define tomorrow’s sociopolitical sphere through literature is a prognostic necessity. The author wisely posits that hindsight is 20/20.

This book is fascinating and exciting; yet, it manages to keep an anecdotal, "Duh I knew that" feel, which (if you didn't pick up on it from context) is a good thing! I like the way Klosterman challenges long-held beliefs by pointing out that we've been wrong before. Challenging one's beliefs is like preening a bush—helps it grow. The more one reconsiders his convictions, the clearer they become.