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settingshadow's review against another edition
4.0
This is the month that the internet becomes book form and then I read it? Except, in contrast to the other book-form internets that I've read this month, Soonish isn't based on a blog, but rather the webcomic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. Which is one of those things that makes me feel a little less lonely: there are a nonzero number of people out there who, like me, eagerly wake up in the morning to read the newest math/D&D/physics/astronomy joke-based comic strip. I'm not alone in the universe.
Soonish is actually primarily by the wife of the SMBC guy, Dr. Weinersmith, who is a PhD in parasitology and her scholarly publication list certainly dwarfs her lay publications. In my opinion, the scholarly bent showed: it's easy to go off of the scifi deep end here, but Dr. Weinersmith both explained things clearly, but also evidently spent a lot of time interviewing the top scholars in the field and making sure she was accurately depicting the current state of each field as well as the promises that it might contain. Ultimately, because the book focuses on multiple future technologies in a fairly rapid fire way it was light reading, but I don't think overly simplified.
I always have pause to see my own field depicted in the lay literature: here in the form of CRISPR, synthetic DNA and precision medicine, but I found it mostly well done, with a couple of metaphors that didn't quite work out. If that's the barometer for the overall scientific rigor of the book, I would say it's in about the 95th percentile of pop science writing.
And the illustrations certainly helped! As a reader of SMBC, I found the comics absolutely consistent with the tone of the webcomic -- funny and a little dry.
Soonish is actually primarily by the wife of the SMBC guy, Dr. Weinersmith, who is a PhD in parasitology and her scholarly publication list certainly dwarfs her lay publications. In my opinion, the scholarly bent showed: it's easy to go off of the scifi deep end here, but Dr. Weinersmith both explained things clearly, but also evidently spent a lot of time interviewing the top scholars in the field and making sure she was accurately depicting the current state of each field as well as the promises that it might contain. Ultimately, because the book focuses on multiple future technologies in a fairly rapid fire way it was light reading, but I don't think overly simplified.
I always have pause to see my own field depicted in the lay literature: here in the form of CRISPR, synthetic DNA and precision medicine, but I found it mostly well done, with a couple of metaphors that didn't quite work out. If that's the barometer for the overall scientific rigor of the book, I would say it's in about the 95th percentile of pop science writing.
And the illustrations certainly helped! As a reader of SMBC, I found the comics absolutely consistent with the tone of the webcomic -- funny and a little dry.
impalalove's review against another edition
3.0
This does have quite a wealth of scientific information, but it was still both informative and interesting to read about; and I appreciated the comics/humor from keeping things too dense.
3thingsaboutthisbook's review against another edition
4.0
📕There is a good balance between science and humour here - hope the authors have the same balance in their marriage. They give you enough to make you aware, but they don’t bore you to an extent that you feel like you are reading a textbook (although the book is as heavy as a textbook tho!)
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📗My friend was reading this book and I decided to flip through pages. They caught me at printable organs
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📘Fun read for anyone who is interested in science, technology and possible inventions we will have in future - it puts everything into perspective both scientifically and financially
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📗My friend was reading this book and I decided to flip through pages. They caught me at printable organs
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📘Fun read for anyone who is interested in science, technology and possible inventions we will have in future - it puts everything into perspective both scientifically and financially
andrewgraphics's review against another edition
3.0
Fun, interesting facts, but the author's jokey style falls flat: not terribly funny, and it permeates the book. I found myself skimming to find the kernels of info.
And the cartoons (by the author's husband) suffer from the same problem.
This book desperately needed an editor to rein them in.
And the cartoons (by the author's husband) suffer from the same problem.
This book desperately needed an editor to rein them in.
thomcat's review against another edition
2.0
An investigation into potential technologies that could affect your future, from cheaper space flight to brain computer interfaces. Well researched and current, but with far too much added humor and web-style comics.
These are bigger-picture ideas, not simple components like driverless cars or retinal scanning. Each has a thumbnail sketch of where we are now, possibilities and concerns, and how this tech could change the world. In the conclusion, the authors express their biggest fear is being called inaccurate, and this book seems to pass that test.
There is a final chapter which lists ideas they thought of including but didn't. In that section they described their process - write up the idea, then inject humor and cartoons. This latter injection was the major drawback for me. Cartoons that explain a topic or its drawback would be fine, but the vast majority of comics in this book do not. Many contain just the authors and a joke or humorous situation - these feel very forced.
I get that one of the two authors is a successful web comic guy, and some humor in a science book is welcome - but this book goes beyond over-the-top.
These are bigger-picture ideas, not simple components like driverless cars or retinal scanning. Each has a thumbnail sketch of where we are now, possibilities and concerns, and how this tech could change the world. In the conclusion, the authors express their biggest fear is being called inaccurate, and this book seems to pass that test.
There is a final chapter which lists ideas they thought of including but didn't. In that section they described their process - write up the idea, then inject humor and cartoons. This latter injection was the major drawback for me. Cartoons that explain a topic or its drawback would be fine, but the vast majority of comics in this book do not. Many contain just the authors and a joke or humorous situation - these feel very forced.
I get that one of the two authors is a successful web comic guy, and some humor in a science book is welcome - but this book goes beyond over-the-top.
realreads's review against another edition
5.0
Zach's humor is not for everyone but it is for me -- dorky, simple, and not overtly funny. My favorite part is that every chapter is a jumping off point for hours of Googling and wikipedia-ing of science topics. The bioprinting and synthetic biology chapters were neat and had lots of stuff I didn't know about. The space chapters are a great intro to the topic, especially reusability of rockets. The 3d printing chapter led me to some cool you tube videos (brick-laying robots!). Oh, and laser-induced forward transfer is crazy cool!!
shea_proulx's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
sshparker's review against another edition
3.0
Read through page 83, and had to return to the library