The Next Fifty Years : Science in the First Half of the Twenty First Century - Softcover

John Brockman

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0753817101 ISBN 13: 9780753817100

Publisher: Phoenix Paperbacks, 2003

Synopsis

From Dolly the sheep to the Human Genome Project, the last fifty years have seen unprecedented leaps in our scientific understanding that have revolutionised our perception of ourselves, our world and our place in it. What, one might wonder, does the future have in store for us? Will we discover that our universe existed before the Big Bang or be able to 'swap' brains between different species? What is the future of happiness? In this dazzling collection, scientists at the very forefront of their fields, including Richard Dawkins, Lee Smolin, Sir Martin Rees and Ian Stewart, have been brought together to discuss the future of science, and the ways in which these dynamic changes will affect our daily lives.

About this title

Review

Scientists love to speculate about the direction research and technology will take us, and editor John Brockman has given a stellar panel free rein to imagine the future in The Next Fifty Years. From brain-swapping and the hunt for extraterrestrials to the genetic elimination of unhappiness and a new scientific morality, the ideas in this book are wild and thought-provoking. The list of scientists and thinkers who participate is impressive: Lee Smolin and Martin Rees on cosmology; Ian Stewart on mathematics; and Richard Dawkins and Paul Davies on the life sciences, just to name a few. Many of the authors remind readers that science has changed a lot since the blind optimism of the early 20th century, and they are unanimously aware of the potential consequences of the developments they describe. Fifty years is a long time in the information age, and these essays do a credible and entertaining job of guessing where we're going. --Therese Littleton

From the Inside Flap

A brilliant ensemble of the world?s most visionary scientists provides twenty-five original never-before-published essays about the advances in science and technology that we may see within our lifetimes.

Theoretical physicist and bestselling author Paul Davies examines the likelihood that by the year 2050 we will be able to establish a continuing human presence on Mars. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi investigates the ramifications of engineering high-IQ, geneticially happy babies. Psychiatrist Nancy Etcoff explains current research into the creation of emotion-sensing jewelry that could gauge our moods and tell us when to take an anti-depressant pill. And evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins explores the probability that we will soon be able to obtain a genome printout that predicts our natural end for the same cost as a chest x-ray. (Will we want to read it? And will insurance companies and governments have access to it?) This fascinating and unprecedented book explores not only the practical possibilities of the near future, but also the social and political ramifications of the developments of the strange new world to come.

Also includes original essays by:

Lee Smolin
Martin Rees
Ian Stewart
Brian Goodwin
Marc D. Hauser
Alison Gopnik
Paul Bloom
Geoffrey Miller
Robert M. Sapolsky
Steven Strogatz
Stuart Kauffman
John H. Holland
Rodney Brooks
Peter Atkins
Roger C. Schank
Jaron Lanier
David Gelernter
Joseph LeDoux
Judith Rich Harris
Samuel Barondes
Paul W. Ewald

Edition details

• Publisher: Phoenix Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0753817101
• ISBN 13: 9780753817100
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320