Dumbing Us Down vs Essais: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Education, Essays, Philosophy, Biography & Memoir
Dumbing Us Down
“Networks don’t require the whole person, only a narrow piece. If, on the other hand, you function in a network, it asks you to suppress all the parts of yourself except the network-interest part — a highly unnatural act although one you can get used to. …If you enter into too many of these bargains, you will split yourself into many specialized pieces, none of them completely human.”
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"New 10th anniverary edition."--Cover.
vs
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Dumbing Us Down is the quickest read — about 1 hours vs 6 for Essais.
- Essais has the widest readership — 1246 ratings behind its score.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| Dumbing Us Down | Essais | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 4.1 (1246) |
| Hardcover | 3.8 (20) | — |
| Google Books | 5.0 (2) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (23) | — |
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Reception
| Dumbing Us Down | Essais | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 23 | 1246 |
| Editions | 13 | 294 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 2126 |
| Written reviews | — | 99 |
| Wikipedia attention | 738 | 4033 |
| Pages | 104 | 329 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Dumbing Us Down or Essais?
Dumbing Us Down has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Dumbing Us Down 4.1/5, Essais 4.1/5).
Which is shorter to read: Dumbing Us Down or Essais?
Dumbing Us Down is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Dumbing Us Down (104 pages, ≈ 1 h 56 m); Essais (329 pages, ≈ 6 h 06 m).
Which is harder to read: Dumbing Us Down or Essais?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Dumbing Us Down: Challenging; Essais: Demanding.