Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I really enjoyed this book! It is very readable and offers a very informative look at some of the most important future technologies. It's based on the author's travels and interviews with the top people in the various fields. I find it interesting and surprising that a professional comedian would write such an insightful book on these subjects.
The book looks at genetics/biotech engineering, robotics and artificial intelligence, transhumanism (merging people and machines), nanotechnology, the commercial space program and technology to battle climate change. The last part of the book focuses on how all this might affect people, society and culture. As the title suggests the book has a generally optimistic take on these technologies, but it does offer some balance, and the author keeps up his sense of humor (British humor) even when writing about existential treats from things like engineered viruses or nanotechnology grey goo.
Highly recommended for anyone who wants to get an idea of what might be coming in the next few decades. The book didn't talk alot about the economics of all this, and one thing I wonder about is unemployment from advanced robots and artificial intelligence. For more on that also check out The Lights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future, which is also an easy and informative read and talks about many of the same technologies more from an economic point of view.
If you really want to delve into the technology and especially transhumanism there is also Ray Kurzweil's (who was interviewed in this book) classic, The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology (but that is a much more challenging and technical read that this book).
Click Here to see more reviews about: AN Optimist's Tour of the Future: One Curious Man Sets Out to Answer "What's Next"
In the tradition of Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything, a smart and entertaining guide to the future of civilization When unexpectedly confronted with his own mortality, Mark Stevenson-a writer, deep-thinker, and stand-up comedian-began to ponder what the future holds for our species. "The past is a foreign country," writes Stevenson. "By my analysis it's a bit like France-in that I've been to parts of it and eaten some nice food there. But the future? The future is an unknown territory-and there isn't a guidebook." Thus, his ambition was born. Stevenson set out simply, asking, "What's next?" and then traveled the globe in pursuit of the answers. Along the way, he visited the Australian outback to visit the farmers who can save us from climate change, met a robot with mood swings, and talked to the Spaniard who's putting a hotel in space. While some might be overwhelmed, or even dismayed by the looming realities of genome sequencing, synthetic biology, a nuclear renaissance, and carbon scrubbing, Stevenson remains, well, optimistic. Drawing on his singular humor and storytelling to break down these sometimes complicated discoveries, An Optimist's Tour of the Future paints a wonderfully readable, and completely enthralling portrait of where we'll be when we grow up- and why it's not so scary.
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