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Trees on Mars: Our Obsession with the Future
The future is big right now—for perhaps the first time, our society is more focused on what is going to happen in the future than what is happening right now . In Trees on Our Obsession with the Future , cultural critic and indie entrepreneur Hal Niedzviecki asks how and when we started believing we could and should “create the future.” What is it like to live in a society utterly focused on what is going to happen next? Through visits to colleges, corporations, tech conferences, factories and more, Niedzviecki traces the story of how owning the future has become irresistible to us. In deep conversation with both the beneficiaries and victims of our relentless obsession with the future, Niedzviecki asks crucial Where are we actually heading? How will we get there? And whom may we be leaving behind?
317 pages, Paperback
First published October 13, 2015
6 people are currently reading
184 people want to read
About the author
Hal Niedzviecki
16 books50 followersHal Niedzviecki is a writer, culture commentator and editor whose work challenges
preconceptions and confronts readers with the offenses of everyday life. Hal works in both the fiction and nonfiction genres. He is the author
of books including, in fiction, the novel Ditch, and his latest novel The Program. In nonfiction, his most recent work is The Peep Diaries: How We're Learning To Love Watching Ourselves and Our Neighbors (www.peepdiaries.com). He is the
current fiction editor and the founder of Broken Pencil, the magazine of zine culture and
the independent arts ( www.brokenpencil.com). He edited the magazine from 1995 to
2002. Hal’s writing has appeared in newspapers, periodicals and journals across North
America including the Utne Reader, the Globe and Mail, the National Post, Toronto Life,
Walrus, Geist, and This Magazine. He was the recipient of the Alexander Ross Award for
Best New Magazine Writer at the 1999 National Magazine Awards and has presented his
work at events across North America including the International Festival of Authors in
Toronto. Once dubbed the “guru of independent/alternative action” by the Toronto Star,
Niedzviecki is committed to exploring the human condition through provocative fiction
and non-fiction that charts the media saturated terrain of ever shifting multiple identities
at the heart of our fragmenting age. For excerpts, reviews, samples of past articles and
more, visit Hal’s website: www.smellit.ca
preconceptions and confronts readers with the offenses of everyday life. Hal works in both the fiction and nonfiction genres. He is the author
of books including, in fiction, the novel Ditch, and his latest novel The Program. In nonfiction, his most recent work is The Peep Diaries: How We're Learning To Love Watching Ourselves and Our Neighbors (www.peepdiaries.com). He is the
current fiction editor and the founder of Broken Pencil, the magazine of zine culture and
the independent arts ( www.brokenpencil.com). He edited the magazine from 1995 to
2002. Hal’s writing has appeared in newspapers, periodicals and journals across North
America including the Utne Reader, the Globe and Mail, the National Post, Toronto Life,
Walrus, Geist, and This Magazine. He was the recipient of the Alexander Ross Award for
Best New Magazine Writer at the 1999 National Magazine Awards and has presented his
work at events across North America including the International Festival of Authors in
Toronto. Once dubbed the “guru of independent/alternative action” by the Toronto Star,
Niedzviecki is committed to exploring the human condition through provocative fiction
and non-fiction that charts the media saturated terrain of ever shifting multiple identities
at the heart of our fragmenting age. For excerpts, reviews, samples of past articles and
more, visit Hal’s website: www.smellit.ca
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 13, 2021
No longer to be considered as simply part of the endless weave of time, the future has been recast as a finite resource....p10
Today it's not just the present that we are urged to control; today, the future, too, is something that individuals are being told to contest, buy, sell, and bring into being. We used to talk about living in the moment-carpe diem, just do it. A consume now, think later mentality....But even that doesn't cut it anymore....Achievement in the age of the Internet has been supersized. Rags-to-riches is now app-to-global-domination. p31
All the same, nobody actually comes out and says exactly what this means. p11
Hal Niedzviecki lays it all out in this morbidly engaging exploration of the concepts that underlie the current drive to yank the future into the present and just ditch much of the past. No alarmist, he nevertheless makes it clear that we ignore this trend at our peril.
The future is just chaos waiting to be shaped into... information. p141
HN is not only good at online research; he is generous with his citations and provides a fairly comprehensive index and bibliography as well as references. He also travelled extensively to take part in conferences and PR events pedaling the future or 'prepping' for it. He takes an even tone as he presents the case for all sides and stripes of conformists, opportunists and dissenters. Just as the reader is tempted to be persuaded, he will present his counter-argument with such flair that switching feels natural. Having varnished the glowing possibilities of the sparkling future, he is bound to hit a wall.
But getting to the future is a Trojan Horse. It's a sneaky way to keep doing what we've been doing for at least 2oo or even 2000 years despite ample evidence that we are on a collision course with our own impulses. p257
In our era of chasing the future, everything is in flux and stability seems to be the most elusive commodity of all. There's greater systemic inequality (and) no guarantees that getting an education and being a willing, eager worker will lead to meaningful or even steady work. p191
HN resists or perhaps really was unable to come up with a tidy end for his well-mapped book, no destination he could wholeheartedly recommend. "I write," he admits, "not out of hope, but rather out of a refusal to give up on the possibility of making meaning."
At some point it is going to be impossible to ignore the increasingly debilitating circumstances brought about by the consumptive frenzy we like to call progress. p257
Is it rational to believe that we can innovate our way out of the corner that innovation got us into? p264
December 17, 2016
As hinted at by the subtitle, Trees On Mars is essentially a critique of what Niedzviecki perceives as a western cultural obsession with “the future”. He begins in Part 1 by noting and exploring various cultural phenomena: the prominence of buzzwords like “innovation” and “disruption”, “creating the future”, “owning the future”; shifts in educational priorities towards solving “real-world” problems (STEM vs humanities), and in the way that education is marketed (e.g. “digital humanities”); the collection and use of “big data” as a means of prediction and control.
Part 2 asks why this is happening. Niedzviecki notes that historically, human societies have resisted technological change rather than chasing it, and argues that, ironically, our obsession with predicting, controlling and creating the future is an attempt to restore the loss of certainty that accompanied the “endless present” of pre-industrial society.
Part 3, aptly titled “The Case Against the Future”, explores some of the negative social consequences of chasing technological change for its own sake: increasing inequality and rising unemployment; the pervasiveness of anxiety disorders and chronic stress from not knowing what the future will bring and the fear of being left out; looming ecological disaster associated with unchecked consumption.
In Part 4, the author turns to an examination of various ways in which people are responding to, or attempting to escape from, the “permanent future”.
I enjoyed reading Trees On Mars. I have difficulty evaluating the persuasiveness of Parts 1-3 because the arguments served mostly to validate thoughts and feelings that I’d been wrestling with for a while now (in a sense, I’d been waiting for someone to write this book!). Part 4 is where things got really interesting and diverged from my expectations. Having painted such a bleak picture, I wondered how Niedzviecki could possibly bring the book to a satisfying conclusion. In my opinion, he succeeds, but to say much more would be to give too much away.
Part 2 asks why this is happening. Niedzviecki notes that historically, human societies have resisted technological change rather than chasing it, and argues that, ironically, our obsession with predicting, controlling and creating the future is an attempt to restore the loss of certainty that accompanied the “endless present” of pre-industrial society.
Part 3, aptly titled “The Case Against the Future”, explores some of the negative social consequences of chasing technological change for its own sake: increasing inequality and rising unemployment; the pervasiveness of anxiety disorders and chronic stress from not knowing what the future will bring and the fear of being left out; looming ecological disaster associated with unchecked consumption.
In Part 4, the author turns to an examination of various ways in which people are responding to, or attempting to escape from, the “permanent future”.
I enjoyed reading Trees On Mars. I have difficulty evaluating the persuasiveness of Parts 1-3 because the arguments served mostly to validate thoughts and feelings that I’d been wrestling with for a while now (in a sense, I’d been waiting for someone to write this book!). Part 4 is where things got really interesting and diverged from my expectations. Having painted such a bleak picture, I wondered how Niedzviecki could possibly bring the book to a satisfying conclusion. In my opinion, he succeeds, but to say much more would be to give too much away.
May 26, 2016
"The future ain't what it used to be." Yogi Berra
This was a well researched, documented and depressing read into the many faceted gem stone we humans have built for ourselves. Polished and glistening with reflected promises of robotics and artificial intelligence. Of course there are tragic flaws in this man made perfect jewel. Shades of big brother lurk in it's Orwellian luster, and shadows of Brave New World echo from the dystopian depths of what we humans have wrought. We have become just another 'Brick In The Wall.' We are the future now, far out beyond the point of no-return as prophesied in '70's by Joni Mitchel's in "Big Yellow Taxi:
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone… "
"When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then will you discover you cannot eat money." Cree Prophecy
The author offers no pat solutions to change rampant thrust of our declining spiritual worthiness for human life. A five star depressingly honest read for me..
This was a well researched, documented and depressing read into the many faceted gem stone we humans have built for ourselves. Polished and glistening with reflected promises of robotics and artificial intelligence. Of course there are tragic flaws in this man made perfect jewel. Shades of big brother lurk in it's Orwellian luster, and shadows of Brave New World echo from the dystopian depths of what we humans have wrought. We have become just another 'Brick In The Wall.' We are the future now, far out beyond the point of no-return as prophesied in '70's by Joni Mitchel's in "Big Yellow Taxi:
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone… "
"When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then will you discover you cannot eat money." Cree Prophecy
The author offers no pat solutions to change rampant thrust of our declining spiritual worthiness for human life. A five star depressingly honest read for me..
January 27, 2017
3 1/4 stars. Good story, good message, even if not very well focused. Investigates all the facets and consequences of a constantly future oriented mentality. Ending is very good. I would suggest to people that they only read the last chapter of the book as a stand alone.
September 18, 2020
Niedzviecki's Trees on Mars communicates this message clearly: shaping desirable futures is both our right and responsibility. Through conversation with university professors, business owners, technicians, engineers, and experts coming from many fields, he has shaped a discourse to envision a winning future for all. He warns about the western cultural obsession with the future. He argues that our obsession with knowing the future is deeply rooted in our unconscious desire to return to a time when we did not have to know what happened next because there was no concern for the future. He believes in an emerging ideology that encourages the systemic shaping of the social order progressively. In his view, the move to the future has been noticed hardly, but a shift in people's minds about futures thinking has emerged simultaneously. Niedzviecki's Trees on Mars encourages a conscious futures thinking instead of worrying about the future or attempting to own it aimlessly.
November 22, 2015
Trees on Mars: Our Obsession with the FutureTrees on Mars: Our Obsession with the Future by Hal Niedzviecki is an invaluable book that explores the pop culture of chasing tomorrow. The book reminded the reader of Alvin Toffler’s The Third Wave at first glance. Based on many social surveys, interviews of people from all walks of life, and tremendous research, the author has provided the reader with facts and provoking thoughts on technology and the future. Many unique points have been made and can be adopted by think tanks. The parts about students and schools interest the reader the most. It is surprising facts that many college students were encouraged to join tech sectors as a way of chasing the future even before they finished their degrees and that a pursuit of higher education was considered as a waste of time and money. Meanwhile many elementary school students were offered iPads as a way to prepare them ready for the future. The phenomena raise these questions: Is the ability to read and write less important than the ability to use a digital device? Is higher education less important than just learning instant lessons about technology? Can innovation really help the young generation embrace the unknown future?
Using the time of Homo erectus to the civilization of Mesopotamia and the culture of the Chumash people on Southern California’s Channel Islands as evidences, the author offers his thought that “for most of human life there is little tradition of embracing chaos, of fostering the new, of empowering people to be change agents.” (P.180) It is not shocking to know that the result of the author’s focus group of university graduates that they “have grown up with every possible privilege. And yet they are confused and wounded with no idea of what is coming next,” (P. 227) as Niedzviecki concludes.
The reader enjoys The End chapter of the book and admires Christy Foley for her ambition and bravery getting ready to explore Mars. The life cycle of birth and death also applies to Earth. If we humans desire to outlive the planet Earth, colonization on Mars is perhaps an excellent option.
Y Generation does not have Baby Boomers’ luck, neither has gained enough life experience and establishment as X Generation has, but Y Generation doe own more future even though they face more challenge. However, standing on the shoulders of the older generations, they are living their lives, ups and downs, through the future shock era.
Using the time of Homo erectus to the civilization of Mesopotamia and the culture of the Chumash people on Southern California’s Channel Islands as evidences, the author offers his thought that “for most of human life there is little tradition of embracing chaos, of fostering the new, of empowering people to be change agents.” (P.180) It is not shocking to know that the result of the author’s focus group of university graduates that they “have grown up with every possible privilege. And yet they are confused and wounded with no idea of what is coming next,” (P. 227) as Niedzviecki concludes.
The reader enjoys The End chapter of the book and admires Christy Foley for her ambition and bravery getting ready to explore Mars. The life cycle of birth and death also applies to Earth. If we humans desire to outlive the planet Earth, colonization on Mars is perhaps an excellent option.
Y Generation does not have Baby Boomers’ luck, neither has gained enough life experience and establishment as X Generation has, but Y Generation doe own more future even though they face more challenge. However, standing on the shoulders of the older generations, they are living their lives, ups and downs, through the future shock era.
November 23, 2015
To be honest, I've only skimmed this book at City Lights prior to an author event I heard about (the day of) on KALW (the 2nd local PBS radio). I debate asking "Publicity" at Seven Stores Press for a review copy.
The subtitle says it all: many English speaking Americans are obsessed with the future. Why? The author can't quite bring himself to say that they want to improve their lot (their fortunes). Mars comes from Elon Musk's desire to go to Mars using his Space X work. And the crowd at City Lights had self-admitted Luddites in the audience who did not likes Techies.
I buy Niedzviecki's commentary on KALW about the over selling of technology and problems like the unemployment it's causing. I buy some of his points of overoptimistic App (like iPhone Apps) fortunes. Most people won't get rich writing Apps. I took the effort to drive 45 miles up the peninsula to find this book and hear what he had to say.
Is this a book which C. P. Snow would call a 1st Culture book rebelling at the 2nd Culture? Maybe so.
Specific chapters are devoted to various futuristic topics. In particular, Niedzviecki focuses on AI, education (that only about 15% of Stanford students major in the humanities), "people being 'left behind'", etc. I have sympathy, however, it was Bill Clinton who won the 1992 election with the phrase: "It's the economy, stupid." A liberal arts education has to provide a little more to a person than a rounded education. It's the economy. Sorry I was not impressed by Future Shock. Education must change.
Sorry, but this book sounds like it comes off as a white person's rant. Whiny. The rest of us, from other cultures, are just trying to survive.
The subtitle says it all: many English speaking Americans are obsessed with the future. Why? The author can't quite bring himself to say that they want to improve their lot (their fortunes). Mars comes from Elon Musk's desire to go to Mars using his Space X work. And the crowd at City Lights had self-admitted Luddites in the audience who did not likes Techies.
I buy Niedzviecki's commentary on KALW about the over selling of technology and problems like the unemployment it's causing. I buy some of his points of overoptimistic App (like iPhone Apps) fortunes. Most people won't get rich writing Apps. I took the effort to drive 45 miles up the peninsula to find this book and hear what he had to say.
Is this a book which C. P. Snow would call a 1st Culture book rebelling at the 2nd Culture? Maybe so.
Specific chapters are devoted to various futuristic topics. In particular, Niedzviecki focuses on AI, education (that only about 15% of Stanford students major in the humanities), "people being 'left behind'", etc. I have sympathy, however, it was Bill Clinton who won the 1992 election with the phrase: "It's the economy, stupid." A liberal arts education has to provide a little more to a person than a rounded education. It's the economy. Sorry I was not impressed by Future Shock. Education must change.
Sorry, but this book sounds like it comes off as a white person's rant. Whiny. The rest of us, from other cultures, are just trying to survive.
March 18, 2016
How we think about the future is contained in the past. If our culture shapes us, it does so by reaching into the future and showing us the new present. Criticizing the future becomes illusive unless, like Niedzviecki, one can also know the present and the past--look, it's all about choices.
In the end, Niedzviecki presents three choices: a) technology will save us; b) prep for the survival because a new anarchism lurks; or c) find the meaning. Find the meaning in both of the first options and match it to our personal values and (I almost said goals) needs. I highly recommend Niedzviecki's critique; it belongs next to books by Jensen, McKibben, Berry, Kunstler, Jamail, and Lanier.
Finally, I recently watched the Disney film, "Tomorrowland," and Niedzviecki supplied me with the necessary lens to interpret it for the propaganda that it is.
In the end, Niedzviecki presents three choices: a) technology will save us; b) prep for the survival because a new anarchism lurks; or c) find the meaning. Find the meaning in both of the first options and match it to our personal values and (I almost said goals) needs. I highly recommend Niedzviecki's critique; it belongs next to books by Jensen, McKibben, Berry, Kunstler, Jamail, and Lanier.
Finally, I recently watched the Disney film, "Tomorrowland," and Niedzviecki supplied me with the necessary lens to interpret it for the propaganda that it is.
May 8, 2016
In summation: I liked it. It is well-researched and mostly well-written. The author has clearly thought his points through and presents them coherently.
This book will make you think.
It will most likely not make you optimistic.
I recommend it. If not for the technological and future-idealist-insights, then only for the blunt, and frankly fairly harsh-but-necessary reality check that it provides.
This book will make you think.
It will most likely not make you optimistic.
I recommend it. If not for the technological and future-idealist-insights, then only for the blunt, and frankly fairly harsh-but-necessary reality check that it provides.
January 21, 2016
A nuanced but gloomy look at the fundamental problems underpinning technology and futurism. The author makes many interesting points, but falls back a little too often on cherrypicked examples and proof by assertion. Nevertheless, a stimulating and provocative read, backed by extensive research and interviews. The irony that I read this on my Kindle was not lost on me. Bring on the Singularity!
November 30, 2015
15b23 @#@ GaryNull_Hal Niedzviecki deconstructs illusions of high tech & fads, publishes Broken Pencil, 'The Peep Diaries,' 'Trees on Mars- Our Obsession with the Future' AlongCameTomorrow.com.mp3
March 7, 2016
Felt this could've been better covered by a long form blog post. Too much spoon-feeding.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews