Steven Poole

What do the phrases “pro-life,” “intelligent design,” and “the war on terror” have in common? Each of them is a name for something that smuggles in a highly charged political opinion. Words and phrases that function in this special way go by many names. Some writers call them “evaluative-descriptive terms.” Others talk of “terministic screens” or discuss the way debates are “framed.” Author Steven Poole calls them Unspeak. Unspeak represents an attempt by politicians, interest groups, and business corporations to say something without saying it, without getting into an argument and so having to justify itself. At the same time, it tries to unspeak — in the sense of erasing or silencing — any possible opposing point of view by laying a claim right at the start to only one way of looking at a problem. Recalling the vocabulary of George Orwell’s 1984, as an Unspeak phrase becomes a widely used term of public debate, it saturates the mind with one viewpoint while simultaneously makes an opposing view ever more difficult to enunciate. In this fascinating book, Poole traces modern Unspeak and reveals how the evolution of language changes the way we think.

How Words Become Weapons, How Weapons Become a Message, and How That Message Becomes Reality

Unspeak

"A brilliant and groundbreaking argument that innovation and progress are often achieved by revisiting and retooling ideas from the past rather than starting from scratch--from The Guardian columnist and contributor to The Atlantic, "--Baker & Taylor.

the surprising history of new ideas

Rethink

Do you hate going forward? Do you shudder when a colleague wants to reach out? Are you disgusted by low-hanging fruit, sick of being on the team, and reluctant to open the kimono? Does the phrase blue-sky thinking make you see red? Do you really want to drill down or take a helicopter view? Are you past caring whether the key drivers are going to move the needle? Should anyone really punch a puppy? And can you bear to hear about a big hairy audacious goal? If modern office jargon makes you want to throw up, this book is for you. Taking a hilarious and scathing deep dive into the most hated and absurd examples of corporate-speak it is a come to Jesus moment for verbally downtrodden workers everywhere.

Who Touched Base in My Thought Shower?

A thought-provoking cultural study of videogames traces the history of this popular form of entertainment and explains why videogames will become the dominant popular art form of the twenty-first century. Reprint.

Videogames and the Entertainment Revolution

Trigger Happy

A weird and wonderful word and its meaning for every day of the year. 'A lexicological delight' Professor David Crystal Who knew that to dringle is to 'waste time in a lazy lingering manner'? Or that a sudden happy ending could be termed a eucotastrophe? Looking for an alternative word to 'bullshit'? Then try taradiddle. A Word for Every Day of the Year is a fascinating collection of 366 words and their definitions, perfect for anyone who loves the richness of the English language, its diversity and wants to expand their vocabulary. Each day offers a rare and remarkable word with its history and definition and occasionally a challenge to include it in our lives.

A Word for Every Day of the Year

The Surprising History of New Ideas

We have become obsessed by food: where it comes from, where to buy it, how to cook it and—most absurdly of all—how to eat it. Our televisions and newspapers are filled with celebrity chefs, latter-day priests whose authority and ambition range from the small scale (what we should have for supper) to large-scale public schemes designed to improve our communal eating habits. When did the basic human imperative to feed ourselves mutate into such a multitude of anxieties about provenance, ethics, health, lifestyle and class status? And since when did the likes of Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson gain the power to transform our kitchens and dining tables into places where we expect to be spiritually sustained? In this subtle and erudite polemic, Steven Poole argues that we're trying to fill more than just our bellies when we pick up our knives and forks, and that we might be a lot happier if we realised that sometimes we should throw away the colour supplements and open a tin of beans.

Fed Up with Gastroculture

You Aren't What You Eat

UNSPEAK: HOW WORDS BECOME WEAPONS, HOW WEAPONS BECOME MESSAGES, AND HOW THE MESSAGE BECOMES REALITY.

A weird and wonderful word and its meaning for every day of the year. Who knew that to dringle is to 'waste time in a lazy lingering manner'? Or that a sudden happy ending could be termed a eucotastrophe? Looking for an alternative word to 'bullshit'? Then try taradiddle. A Word for Every Day of the Year is a fascinating collection of 366 words and their definitions, perfect for anyone who loves the richness of the English language, its diversity and wants to expand their vocabulary. Each day offers a rare and remarkable word with its history and definition and occasionally a challenge to include it in our lives.

A Treasury of Unbearable Office Jargon

Who Touched Base in my Thought Shower?

O demonstraţie strălucitoare şi originală a faptului că noile idei provin dintr-unele vechi mai frecvent decât ne dăm seama şi că secretul gândirii ar putea consta, de fapt, în regândire. ŞTIAŢI CĂ: Producătorul de maşini electrice Tesla valorifică o invenţie apărută pentru prima oară în 1837? După 11 septembrie, primele trupe terestre ale S.U.A. trimise să lupte împotriva talibanilor n-au făcut-o în interiorul unor tancuri ultramoderne, ci călare pe cai? În 2004, FDA a aprobat lipitorile ca dispozitiv medical? În 2015, un farmacolog chinez a primit Premiul Nobel pentru descoperirea unui tratament contra malariei bazat pe plante, care a fost inspirat dintr-un text datând din secolul al IV-lea? Epigenetica a fost descoperită de un francez pe nume Lamarck, a cărui teorie a evoluţiei a fost considerată greşită vreme de două sute de ani? Iniţial, Viagra a fost creată ca tratament pentru angina pectorală, dar un efect secundar „întăritor” a determinat compania farmaceutică să găsească o nouă întrebuinţare pentru micuţa pilulă albastră? Inovaţia nu-i întotdeauna atât de inedită precum pare. Aceasta este povestea modului în care vechile idei care au fost luate în zeflemea sau ignorate secole de-a rândul dau astăzi buzna în avangarda ştiinţei şi tehnologiei, influenţându-ne felul în care ne trăim vieţile. Recurgând la exemple din lumea afacerilor, filosofie sau ştiinţă, variind de la propunerile neconvenţionale din sălile de şedinţe la marile proiecte pentru schimbări sociale şi politice, Regândeşte demonstrează că reevaluarea ideilor vechi, la care s-a renunţat, este adeseori cheia unor idei noi ale epocii noastre. Convingătoare, splendidă şi scrisă exuberant, lucrarea editorialistului de la The Guardian, Steven Poole, dovedeşte că, dacă vrem să influenţăm viitorul, ar trebui să începem prin a arunca o privire în trecut. „O călătorie pe un covor fermecat prin istoria gândirii, la o înălţime de la care ni se înfiripă în faţa ochilor corespondenţe şi tipare neaşteptate... Talentul narativ al autorului stă mărturie că acest vârtej al descoperirilor nu va sfârşi într-un maldăr de hârtii împrăştiate pe podea... Puterea lui de a orchestra lucrurile a dat rezultate. Printre cele mai frumoase complimente pe care le poţi face acestei cărţi este că te ajută să vezi lucrurile într-un mod diferit. Câtă vreme nu vei fi orbit de focurile de artificii, Regândeşte te va ajuta să capeţi o perspectivă nouă.” The Guardian „O comoară... O carte isteaţă şi distractivă care, în cel mai rău caz, te va ajuta să fii mai interesant la petreceri.” The Times STEVEN POOLE este autorul cărţilor Unspeak, Trigger Happy şi Who Touched Base in My Thought Shower? Are o rubrică în The Guardian, lucrările sale referitoare la lumea ideilor şi cultură apărând şi în The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The Times Literary Supplement şi în multe alte publicaţii. A absolvit Universitatea Cambridge, a trăit mulţi ani la Paris şi acum locuieşte în East London. „O taxonomie distractivă, care-ţi deschide ochii asupra ideilor care refuză să dispară." The Financial Times „Cu această carte, Poole confirmă că este unul dintre cei mai antrenanţi şi mai provocatori scriitori în domeniul ştiinţei şi al tehnologiei.” The Spectator „Uimitoare... Fascinantă... Când vine vorba despre descrierea unei idei complexe, Poole este unul dintre cei mai buni scriitori de care putem avea parte... O carte profundă şi provocatoare.” The Sunday Times

REgândeşte. Surprinzătoarea noutate a vechilor idei

DIV We have become obsessed by food: where it comes from, where to buy it, how to cook it and – most absurdly of all – how to eat it. Our televisions and newspapers are filled with celebrity chefs, latter-day priests whose authority and ambition range from the small scale (what we should have for supper) to large-scale public schemes designed to improve our communal eating habits. When did the basic human imperative to feed ourselves mutate into such a multitude of anxieties about provenance, ethics, health, lifestyle and class status? And since when did the likes of Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson gain the power to transform our kitchens and dining tables into places where we expect to be spiritually sustained? In this subtle and erudite polemic, Steven Poole argues that we're trying to fill more than just our bellies when we pick up our knives and forks, and that we might be a lot happier if we realised that sometimes we should throw away the colour supplements and open a tin of beans. /div

Steven Poole

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