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r2bone's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting but not the best of Michio Kaku's work, if you´ve read any of his recent 2-3 books you basically have all the information in this one.
realreads's review against another edition
5.0
Futuristic without being speculative. Dr. Kaku has an uncanny ability to blend science worth story telling and writing that naturally moves from one topic to another. Fun read!
sarablacks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
4.0
maisela25's review against another edition
4.0
A highly readable, entertaining, and insightful look into what it will take for humanity to permanently settle beyond Earth. Kaku takes the reader through what he views as an imperative: establishing colonies within our solar system and throughout the universe. He lays out how fragile our existence is and how human civilization can come to a cataclysmic end (climate change, cataclysmic volcanoes, asteroids, and the inevitable heat death of our planet by the Sun) as a means to motivate us to look to the stars for salvation.
The book is neatly divided into interconnected sections that discuss all aspects of space colonization, from what planets might sustain life for us (or other civilizations) and how to get there, to more granular aspects of colonizing the universe, including self-replicating robots, trans-humanism, immortality, and Kaku's coined term "laser porting" (transferring our consciousness into pure energy which can be beamed to far-off relay stations and robots, allowing us to explore the universe freed from the limitations of the human body). Needless to say, expect your mind to be blown every 5-10 pages.
Perhaps what I enjoyed most was Kaku's appreciation for science fiction, which he uses throughout as a means to explain theoretical concepts and also demonstrate what may be possible in the years and centuries to come. If you're an avid science fiction fan who lacks an understanding of physics (present company included), "The Future of Humanity" is a complementary dose of science fact.
The book is neatly divided into interconnected sections that discuss all aspects of space colonization, from what planets might sustain life for us (or other civilizations) and how to get there, to more granular aspects of colonizing the universe, including self-replicating robots, trans-humanism, immortality, and Kaku's coined term "laser porting" (transferring our consciousness into pure energy which can be beamed to far-off relay stations and robots, allowing us to explore the universe freed from the limitations of the human body). Needless to say, expect your mind to be blown every 5-10 pages.
Perhaps what I enjoyed most was Kaku's appreciation for science fiction, which he uses throughout as a means to explain theoretical concepts and also demonstrate what may be possible in the years and centuries to come. If you're an avid science fiction fan who lacks an understanding of physics (present company included), "The Future of Humanity" is a complementary dose of science fact.
area43's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
bookaneer's review against another edition
4.0
Speculative non-fiction! Lots of interesting tech discussed from space elevator to artificial retina and space solar energy, but there's also some amusing bits about how aliens would look like. Fun read especially if you're an SF fan.
sigurdas's review against another edition
5.0
The following citation from this book pretty much sums it up for me:
"For example, think of a two-dimensional world of Flatlanders, who, like cookie men, can only move left or right, but never “up.” Imagine that there was once a beautiful three-dimensional crystal that exploded, showering fragments onto Flatland. Over the years, the Flatlanders have reassembled this crystal into two large fragments. But as hard as they try, they are unable to fit these last two fragments together. Then one day, a Flatlander makes the outrageous proposal that if they move one fragment “up,” into the unseen third dimension, then the two fragments would fit together and form a beautiful three-dimensional crystal. So the key to re-creating the crystal was moving the fragments through the third dimension. By analogy, these two fragments are relativity theory and the quantum theory, the crystal is string theory, and the explosion was the Big Bang."
dingakaa's review against another edition
4.0
A nice, easy read.
I first encountered Kaku with his second book, Hyperspace, and was a physics major at the time. I finished that book almost as quickly as I changed careers, though for different reasons.
I loved his writing then, which was accessible for a pratically-lay person. Today, far removed from a career in physics, his writing is just as enjoyable and intriguing. This book is a whistlestop tour across the domains of science that will likely propel us in the future (mostly based on being able to leave Earth). With a mixture of hard science and educated conjecture, he supposes what it would take for humans to become space-faring, and what that might one day look like. He finishes with a discussion on string theory (his domain) and how this fits into humans mastering the cosmos. Invariably, it is the best chapter.
I'd recommend this for anyone curious about the subject, as it has enough to satisfy any itch related to modern science.
I first encountered Kaku with his second book, Hyperspace, and was a physics major at the time. I finished that book almost as quickly as I changed careers, though for different reasons.
I loved his writing then, which was accessible for a pratically-lay person. Today, far removed from a career in physics, his writing is just as enjoyable and intriguing. This book is a whistlestop tour across the domains of science that will likely propel us in the future (mostly based on being able to leave Earth). With a mixture of hard science and educated conjecture, he supposes what it would take for humans to become space-faring, and what that might one day look like. He finishes with a discussion on string theory (his domain) and how this fits into humans mastering the cosmos. Invariably, it is the best chapter.
I'd recommend this for anyone curious about the subject, as it has enough to satisfy any itch related to modern science.