If you’ve ever lost track of what day it is after a series of
continent-hopping plane flights, or indeed all sense of self—except for
your trusty mouse hand—when surfing the Net, you may well agree with the
sentiments of Paul Virilio in Open Sky. Virilio rages against the destruction of
“real” spaces and distances in our world by the technological developments of
high-speed travel and telecommunications. But unless you can stomach supposedly
meaningful phrases such as “one day the day will come when the day will not
come”, you had better put the book down and log back on as just another terminal
in cyberspace. Maybe something was lost in translation, but this is so intense
that you have to tackle one sentence at a time to try to grasp what Virilio is
getting at. Highlighting concepts such as “the death of geography” in italics
doesn’t help matters either. Published by Verso, £10, ISBN 1859841813.
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features

Life
New Scientist recommends a brilliant take on the evolution of birds
Culture

Environment
Striking photos show how sands are encroaching on oases in the Sahara
Regulars

Comment
Think you have a good sense of humour? So do most people…
Regulars

Comment
Sci-fi horror film Backrooms is a triumph for its 20-year-old director
Culture
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
Fully autonomous drones have killed human soldiers for the first time
2
Mysterious ‘cold blob’ in the Atlantic suggests the AMOC is weakening
3
Dinosaur-killing asteroid impact site stayed hot for millions of years
4
Why we should all take quantum physics extremely personally
5
Understanding anorexia’s grip on the brain could unlock new therapies
6
Millions of fossil whale bones found in deep-ocean ‘necropolis’
7
Pancreatic cancer halted by virus injection in three patients
8
Wildlife thrives in solar farm built on restored peatland
9
A nuclear war between India and Pakistan could destroy the ozone layer
10
Unpicking endometriosis reveals how it affects more than the pelvis