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nderiley's review against another edition
3.0
A fun pop-science style read. This isn't my favorite Kaku work, but it's fun to speculate about the future and it will be interesting to see if any of his predictions come true.
holly_keimig's review against another edition
3.0
Good overview of some things we can expect in the future but it was a bit repetitive in places.
yuzutart's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.25
Overall, a fun but not particularly deep read imagining what technologies might be available to us in the future.
Pros:
- It was fun to imagine what might be possible with technology in the future in a variety of industries such as medicine, space travel, environmental science, and even things like commerce
- Each chapter was in a way that is easy to understand even for those who have no background in science. A lot of references to TV shows helped to visualize what the author was envisioning.
- It was actually quite interesting to see where some of his predictions have landed as of 2024. The "near future" chapters land to about now.
Cons:
- This may not be his area of expertise, but I would have liked more discussion on some of the implications of the advancement of these technologies. There was a lot of "this will happen" but not a lot of "should we pursue this" discourse.
- I actually would have liked a little bit more technical discussion - although easy to understand, it felt very surface-level. This also made some of the predictions he made sound less credible, imo
- Sometimes the wording got a bit repetitive. The author seemed very fond of likening future humans to gods.
Pros:
- It was fun to imagine what might be possible with technology in the future in a variety of industries such as medicine, space travel, environmental science, and even things like commerce
- Each chapter was in a way that is easy to understand even for those who have no background in science. A lot of references to TV shows helped to visualize what the author was envisioning.
- It was actually quite interesting to see where some of his predictions have landed as of 2024. The "near future" chapters land to about now.
Cons:
- This may not be his area of expertise, but I would have liked more discussion on some of the implications of the advancement of these technologies. There was a lot of "this will happen" but not a lot of "should we pursue this" discourse.
- I actually would have liked a little bit more technical discussion - although easy to understand, it felt very surface-level. This also made some of the predictions he made sound less credible, imo
- Sometimes the wording got a bit repetitive. The author seemed very fond of likening future humans to gods.
11corvus11's review against another edition
DNF. This one wasn't for me. Going to give another Kaku book a shot since reviews on this one suggest his others are better.
ninakeller's review against another edition
4.0
Just as people in the 1900s could not easily imagine the year 2000, we underestimate the advancements that will define the year 2100.
Talking with 300 of the top scientists at the cutting edge of science and technology, Kaku predicts the advancements we can reasonably expect this century.
Just as Newton’s laws of physics set the stage for the industrial revolution, we have come to an understanding of the universe that allows humans to do things that would have been considered mystical or god-like by our ancestors. We retain, however, “caveman” ways of thinking and surviving [caveman principle], which combined with domination over the laws of nature will define the future of technological advancement.
So much fun to read, especially the last chapter which concludes the book with a vignette of daily life in the next century. It was written pre-covid pandemic, but interestingly predicts pandemics as a marker of progress toward what we can expect in a nanotechnology-driven future.
Talking with 300 of the top scientists at the cutting edge of science and technology, Kaku predicts the advancements we can reasonably expect this century.
Just as Newton’s laws of physics set the stage for the industrial revolution, we have come to an understanding of the universe that allows humans to do things that would have been considered mystical or god-like by our ancestors. We retain, however, “caveman” ways of thinking and surviving [caveman principle], which combined with domination over the laws of nature will define the future of technological advancement.
So much fun to read, especially the last chapter which concludes the book with a vignette of daily life in the next century. It was written pre-covid pandemic, but interestingly predicts pandemics as a marker of progress toward what we can expect in a nanotechnology-driven future.
youmi's review against another edition
I hate the way that guy talks. and not having an understanding of society and power dynamics is frankly so aggravating in a book like that
professorfate's review against another edition
5.0
A bit repetitive at times, but still a fascinating read.