Jason Kane's Reviews > But What If We're Wrong? Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past

Ok, I've read a few Chuck Klosterman books, and this is by far the most dense. Many of his books focus on viewing different aspects of the world through a pop culture lens, and while this one is no different in that respect the concept is pretty high brow this time around. Now, don't get me wrong (a phrase Klosterman somewhat lambastes in the book), I loved the book, but be warned that this one is not a breezy ride through pop cultural perspectives on media and world events. The title of the book does a good job of describing its message. Klosterman analyzes media, history, science, and culture with the expressed intent on hypothetically proposing that like so many before us who were proven wrong in their respective fields by cultural advances, "What if we're wrong?" about many of the things we hold to be absolute certainties. If many contemporaries of Aristotle agreed with his thought that gravity's effect on a stone is based on it being made of a similar substance as the ground and thus, it "wanted" to be on the ground, then how do we know many of the things we agree about today are so correct?

The book goes on to discuss many of the facets of today right up to the latest current events of 2016, and wonders what future societies will hang on to from our time on earth. Will the cultural landmarks we consider eternal be left in the dust while total obscurities are held up in high regard? The book help my attention, but was a surprisingly complex little book. If you like Klosterman, there is plenty to enjoy and appreciate, but as Klosterman warns, don't take it too seriously but rather use it as a form of broadening your perspectives on some of life's truths.