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"From a top scientist and the creator of the hugely popular web comic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, a hilariously illustrated investigation into future technologies--from how to fling a ship into deep space on the cheap to 3D organ printing. What will the world of tomorrow be like? How does progress happen? And why do we not have a lunar colony already? What is the holdup? In this smart and funny book, celebrated cartoonist Zach Weinersmith and noted researcher Dr. Kelly Weinersmith give us a snapshot of what's coming next--from robot swarms to nuclear-fusion-powered toasters. By weaving their own research, interviews with the scientists who are making these advances happen, and Zach's trademark comics, the Weinersmiths investigate why these technologies are needed, how they would work, and what is standing in their way. New technologies are almost never the work of isolated geniuses with a neat idea. A given future technology may need any number of intermediate technologies to develop first, and many of these critical advances may appear to be irrelevant when they are first discovered. The journey to progress is full of strange detours and blind alleys that tell us so much about the human mind and the march of civilization. To this end, SOONISH investigates ten different emerging fields, from programmable matter to augmented reality, from space elevators to robotic construction, to show us the amazing world we will have, you know, soonish."--Jacket.… (more)
User reviews
The
And they do it with humor! Not too worry, though, just a few snarks and jokes inserted here and there. Like the difference between a geneticist and a genomicist: "This may sound like the genomicist is just smarter, but it's kind of like the difference between a psychologist and a sociologist." The footnote shreds!: "The former is wrong about individuals, the latter is wrong about groups."
And the analogies! On why electroencephalograms are so limited (poor spatial resolution, among other reasons): "Imagine you have a giant sphere filled with a million cats. You have sound detectors all around the rim of the sphere, There is no outside interference because your friends have stopped speaking to you."
The eleven pages of bibliography (in maybe 4 or 5 point font) are enough to keep me reading for the next 111 years. Brilliant. Well done. Highly recommended.
There are similar cartoon-using books, like "We Have No Idea", but the execution is much better.
I really enjoyed this book. I am definitely a science nerd. I love stuff like this, about technology and how it might impact our lives in the future. I only got to read an excerpt from the book, but I really enjoyed what I read. The book starts out with
I would definitely recommend this one. I think it would also be a great gift for the science nerds you love, including your teenagers.
Ten Emerging Technologies That Will Improve and/or Ruin Everything
by Dr. Kelly Weinersmith; Zach Weinersmith
This is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary.
This book is an informative and fun book to read. Not only does it give the reader ideas for what might be coming
The best part is how they do all three things - dreams of what
The witty, swift writing style makes for a quick, enjoyable read. Pick it up if you’re interested in learning what may happen within our lifetimes.
Original publication date
DDC/MDS
601.12 |