AN Optimist's Tour of the Future One Curious Man Sets Out to Answer "What's Next?"

by Stevenson, Mark

• ISBN13: 9781583334560
• ISBN10: 1583334564
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-02-07
• Publisher: Avery Trade

Summary

In the tradition of Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything, a smart and entertaining guide to the future. Mark Stevenson-a writer, deep thinker, and stand-up comedian-set out simply, asking, "What's next for our species?" and then traveled the globe in pursuit of the answers. Along the way, he visited the Australian outback to visit the farmers who can save us from climate change, met a robot with mood swings, and talked to the Spaniard who's putting a hotel in space. While some might be overwhelmed, or even dismayed by the looming realities of genome sequencing, synthetic biology, a nuclear renaissance, and carbon scrubbing, Stevenson remains, well, optimistic. Drawing on his singular humor and storytelling to break down these sometimes complicated discoveries, An Optimist's Tour of the Futurepaints a wonderfully readable, and completely enthralling portrait of where we'll be when we grow up- and why it's not so scary.

Author Biography

Mark Stevenson is cofounder and director of cultural engineers at Flow Associates and the science communication agency ReAgency, and is special adviser to the African mobile social network BSmrt. Mark is a fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, Nibmaster General at the Ministry of Stories, and a founding member of the League of Pragmatic Optimists. His parents still have no idea what he does. He lives in London.

Table of Contents

Man
"The World's Most Dangerous Idea"	p. 3
"The Most Wondrous Map"	p. 27
"My Lab Should Not Be Trusted."	p. 47
Machine
"Can You Turn All the Buttons On?"	p. 67
"Like Explaining Shakespeare to a Dog"	p. 93
"Invisibly Small and Magical"	p. 113
"The Biggest, Baddest Kid on the Block"	p. 141
"A Constant and Complete Intercourse"	p. 158
Mother Earth
"World Leaders Still Don't Really Get It"	p. 185
"I'm a Disruptive Guy. I Like Disruption."	p. 211
"The Black Phantom"	p. 229
"A Little Bit of a Big Amount"	p. 246
"The Best Job in the World."	p. 269
Me
"Making a Road Where There Isn't One"	p. 293
"Future Shock"	p. 313
Hello, and Thanks for All the Fish.	p. 326
Acknowledgments	p. 335
Notes	p. 343
Index	p. 363
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