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sarsaparillo's review against another edition
4.0
This is a fun dive into a few intriguing potential technological breakthroughs which are still in the experimental (or drawing board) phase. As such books go, it has two main things thing for it. The authors have a level-headed approach to everything, neither riding the hype train nor scoffing contemptuously at the ideas. Also it's very funny. It's the sort of shameless nerd humour that easily rub certain people the wrong way, but it's worked on me.
elste's review against another edition
4.0
"Red light means bad, green light means good, no light at all means MOTHER OF GOD RUN FOR YOUR LIFE."
A super fun read – in a sort of weird twisted Outer Limits science project with you as the main course.
Programmable Matter, Augmented Reality, Synthetic Biology, Bioprinting, and Brain-Computer Interfaces – to name a few of the emerging technologies currently being researched and analyzed by scientists as we, mere humans, go about our daily lives in complete cluelessness. I couldn’t quite figure out if I was bowled over with stupefied amazement or paralyzing fear – honestly, at times it felt as if a positively giddy Victor Frankenstein had been working in a shiny new 21st-century laboratory. Sans morals. Sans ethics. Thank goodness for the author's well-timed comic relief, whew!
Seriously, Soonish presents some scary stuff, but also taps into the incredible vast potential science has to combat or effectively alter adverse human conditions for the positive. The most brilliant aspect of Soonish is that it opens the reader's mind to otherworldly phenomenal brain power. For the most part, I had no idea that much of the research covered in the book was a topic for discussion, let alone actively being researched in the lab and taken to the limits of actuality. We, humans, have such an amazing capacity for creative and innovative thought. It would be great if all that brain power was harnessed for the betterment of all, true!
A super fun read – in a sort of weird twisted Outer Limits science project with you as the main course.
Programmable Matter, Augmented Reality, Synthetic Biology, Bioprinting, and Brain-Computer Interfaces – to name a few of the emerging technologies currently being researched and analyzed by scientists as we, mere humans, go about our daily lives in complete cluelessness. I couldn’t quite figure out if I was bowled over with stupefied amazement or paralyzing fear – honestly, at times it felt as if a positively giddy Victor Frankenstein had been working in a shiny new 21st-century laboratory. Sans morals. Sans ethics. Thank goodness for the author's well-timed comic relief, whew!
Seriously, Soonish presents some scary stuff, but also taps into the incredible vast potential science has to combat or effectively alter adverse human conditions for the positive. The most brilliant aspect of Soonish is that it opens the reader's mind to otherworldly phenomenal brain power. For the most part, I had no idea that much of the research covered in the book was a topic for discussion, let alone actively being researched in the lab and taken to the limits of actuality. We, humans, have such an amazing capacity for creative and innovative thought. It would be great if all that brain power was harnessed for the betterment of all, true!
jpelder1's review against another edition
5.0
As someone who love SMBC and learning about scientific advances in a variety of fields, I'm pretty much the target market for this book. I learned a lot and laughed a lot
pipareykir's review
4.0
SCIENCE (FICTION)! Although sometimes dense, the subjects treated have a good amount of humour strewn through it to keep it light.
The chapters on handling bio... stuff ended up to be more of an ethical discussion more than a practical discussion (for instance: at what point are we willing to stop brain-computer interfaces? Helping paralyzed people is laudable, but at some point *some* trader is going to use it to make quicker decisions and have an edge over his competitors/complete monopoly over the market).
The chapters on handling bio... stuff ended up to be more of an ethical discussion more than a practical discussion (for instance: at what point are we willing to stop brain-computer interfaces? Helping paralyzed people is laudable, but at some point *some* trader is going to use it to make quicker decisions and have an edge over his competitors/complete monopoly over the market).
ineffablebob's review against another edition
funny
informative
slow-paced
4.25
I am both the target audience for pop science books about near-future tech, and perhaps not exactly the ideal reader. I love to learn about all things science, particularly the new and exciting development, so that part is perfect. But I consume so much media on similar topics - podcasts, documentaries, other books - that a lot of what is covered here was already familiar to me. The authors did a good job explaining in an interesting way, certainly, and there's enough humor to break up any boredom from jargon or long explanations. Even though it wasn't really new territory for me, I enjoyed the read, and anyone not familiar with what's going on in these areas of scientific and technological development should get a lot more out of it. It will be interesting to look back on this in 10 or 15 years and see just how much things have changed - as predicted, or in completely different directions.
jandi's review against another edition
4.0
This is a very accessible overview of the current state of research into emerging technologies, from space exploration and multipurpose robots to medical innovations. Each technology receives a chapter, with a few pages for each of several different avenues to tackling the problem. The explanations are reasonably simple to follow, and are interweaved with single panel comics that mostly poke fun at the authors. The one thing that I felt was lacking was technical illustrations; it was not straightforward to visualize some of the solutions (particularly on the space and robotis related chapters), I would have far preferred that to the comics.
Very interesting read, and it is also a fast read (it took me a very long time to get through it because I was reading it one solution at a time along with breakfast).
Very interesting read, and it is also a fast read (it took me a very long time to get through it because I was reading it one solution at a time along with breakfast).
reasie's review against another edition
4.0
A fun mix of popular science and humor. Perhaps the best thing about the book is that it imparts a sense of hopeful optimism, that science is progressing in thousands of ways around us, and while 3d printed livers and space elevators are a while away, researchers looking toward these technologies are inventing super strong fibers and printable blood vessels along the way.
Also it offers important life advice. How to get on the inside track in the science field of your choice? Bribe researchers with cookies. Cheap ones are good enough. How to avoid the robot apocolypse? Don't accept their cookies. (Evidence is offered for both of these theories and yes, it's kind of related.)
Also it offers important life advice. How to get on the inside track in the science field of your choice? Bribe researchers with cookies. Cheap ones are good enough. How to avoid the robot apocolypse? Don't accept their cookies. (Evidence is offered for both of these theories and yes, it's kind of related.)