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An Optimist's Tour of the Future

An Optimist's Tour of the Future

by Mark Stevenson (Author)

  • Used

    Paperback 2011

    $3.36
Synopsis

Mark Stevenson has been to the future a few years ahead of the rest of us - and reckons it has a lot going for it. His voyage of discovery takes him to Oxford to meet Transhumanists (they intend to live forever), to Boston where he confronts a robot with mood swings, to an underwater cabinet meeting in the Indian Ocean, and Australia to question the Outback's smartest farmer. He clambers around space planes in the Mojave desert, gets to grips with the potential of nanotechnology, delves deep into the possibilities of biotech, sees an energy renaissance on a printer, a revolution in communications, has his genome profiled, and glimpses the next stage of human evolution ... and tries to make sense of what's in store. Insightful and often very funny, An Optimist's Tour of the Future is a book that tracks one curious man's journey to find out 'what's in store?'

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More Information

Format: Paperback
 Pages: 256
 Publisher: Profile Books
Published: 06 Jan 2011
ISBN 10: 1846683564
ISBN 13: 9781846683565
Book Overview: One curious man's journey to find out 'what's next?'

Media Reviews
Blind optimism is the last thing the world needs - a recipe for disappointment. But what about optimism based on careful reasoning? On digging below the surface for the ideas and the trends that really do add up to something promising? That's what's on offer here. Stevenson wears no blindfold. His tools are curiosity, open-mindedness, clarity and reason. That makes his journey intriguing ... and ultimately exhilarating -- Chris Anderson, TED Curator
Mark Stevenson is a futurist endowed with optimism. Where some people fear that robotics and artificial intelligence will dehumanize the world, he sees an enhancement of freedom; where some see nanotechnology as an army of sub-micron Lilliputians controlling our every action, he sees an invisible array of artisans performing miracles in tight spaces. It's refreshing to be led to the far side by someone who sees the bright side! -- Henry Pollack, Nobel Prize Winner
This is a brilliant book, and Mark Stevenson is the perfect guide to a dizzying future that is already here. Genetic innovation. Social robots. Nano-factories. The ideas come so quickly, with such great humor - it's like the smartest dinner party you've ever attended. -- Peter Miller * The Smart Swarm *
Uplifting and liberating. Mark Stevenson is the perfect tour guide: optimistic without being naive, fun but not silly, entertaining yet also an educator. By the end I was utterly convinced that, given the opportunity to flourish, human ingenuity can disperse the clouds that hang over us today. This is a book to gladden the gloomiest heart -- Michael Brooks
A rollicking roller-coaster ride around the cutting edge of science with dozens of laugh-out-loud moments -- Jim Ferguson * Scotsman *
Makes a good case for believing that we can have a future worth making an effort to reach -- Jon Turney * Guardian *
Infectiously enthusiastic -- James McConnachie * Sunday Times *
Refreshingly upbeat * Big Issue *
A refreshing reminder that the future will always belong to the optimists * New Scientist *
The future is here and all around us. It's just, as William Gibson puts it, not evenly distributed yet. And why not? This is the book's killer punch: we have 21st century tech, but our familiar world - from schooling, to work, to our ideas of retirement - hasn't changed since the industrial revolution. The future cannot happen until we change our minds to meet it * Focus *
Author Bio
Mark Stevenson is a writer, entrepreneur and ideas broker who speaks regularly on future narratives, innovation, belief systems and learning. He has written for The Times, Wall Street Journal, Guardian and The New Statesman, and is the author of the critically acclaimed An Optimist's Tour of the Future, which is being turned into a TV series. He is an adviser to the Virgin Earth Challenge and Trillion Fund.