The Influencing Machine (2011) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit

Write a ridiculously simplified synopsis.

Characters/People edit see section history

• Brooke Gladstone: Author and narrator of book
• Mccarthy: Add a description of this character.
• James

Quotes edit see section history

• “Anything that is in the world you're born in is normal and is just a natural part of the way nature works. Anything that's invented between when you're 15 and 35 is new and exciting and revolutionary. Anything invented after you're 35 is against the natural order of things.(Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)”

  Douglas Adams

• “Technology that expands or worldview can also diminish it. How does tolerance fit into the world? How do we develop intellectually or morally if we can evade encounters with the unfamiliar, the unwelcome, and the unimagined?<About incestuous amplification/echo chambers on the internet>”

• “What do you think of yourself? What do you think of the world?..They are riddles of the Sphinx, and in some way or other we must deal with them. If we decide to leave them unanswered, that is a choice; if we waver in our answer, that, too is a choice: but whatever choice we make, we make it at our peril.We stand on a mountain pass in the midst of whirling snow and blinding mist through which we get glimpses now and then of paths which may be deceptive. If we stand still we shall be frozen to death. If we take the wrong road we shall be dashed to pieces. We do not certainly know whether there is any right one. What must we do?<Human run on emotion, assumption & impulse. We can't function on logic alone. But emotion, assumption & impulse also allow us to weave cozy cocoons of unexamined prejudice & recived widsom. They shield us from the pain of unwelcome information.>”

  James Fitzjames Stephen (1873)

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• America
• Iraq
• White House
• Washington
• Vietnam
• Hiroshima
• Spain

Organizations edit see section history

• National Public Radio: Add a description of this organization.
• WNYC
• New York Times

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Journalism: Describe this theme.
• Technology
• The Media
• Psychology
• History

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Brooke Gladstone (Author)
2. Josh Neufeld (Illustrator)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 302.23

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Nonfiction › Social Sciences › Communication › Media And Society