Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That Will Improve and/or Ruin Everything

(Paperback)

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From a top scientist and the creator of the hugely popular web comic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, an illustrated investigation into future technologies What will the world of tomorrow be like How does progress happen And why don't we have a lunar colony already In this witty and entertaining book, Kelly and Zach Weinersmith give us a snapshot of the transformative technologies that are coming next - from robot swarms to nuclear fusion powered-toasters - and explain how they will change our world in astonishing ways. By weaving together their own research, interviews with pioneering scientists and Zach's trademark comics, the Weinersmiths investigate why these innovations are needed, how they would work, and what is standing in their way.

Reviews

An unabashed nerd-out of a book, zinging from outer space to DNA, hardly pausing for breath ... The gleeful geeking out makes for a great read - I couldn't help chuckling or outright cracking up a number of times - while surreptitiously teaching some really important science. It's a winning combination. The sheer breadth of topics covered is also amazing: Probably no other book in history has seriously described the science behind both tentacle construction robots and the human nasal cycle -- Science * Colin McCormick *
Space elevators, gold asteroids, and fusion-powered toasters - who knew science could be so much fun And who knew fun could be so scientific Soonish is hilarious, provocative, and shamelessly informative -- Tim Harford, author of 'Messy' and 'The Undercover Economist'
Playful, yet deep -- Dr. George Church, Harvard University
I love this book so much I 3D printed myself a second heart so I could love it more -- Dr. Phil Plait, astronomer, author, writer of the Bad Astronomy Blog
Kelly and Zach promised me a crystal ball, but what I got is both more insightful and far more entertaining than staring into a dumb glass orb. Soonish will make you laugh and - without you even realizing it - give you insight into the most ambitious technological feats of our time. You should read this book, sooner than soonish -- Alexis Ohanian, Cofounder of Reddit
Basically, I think this book is a masterpiece, and something I wish I'd written myself -- Scott Aaronson, David J. Bruton Centennial Professor of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin and author of 'Quantum Computing Since Democritus'
Compelling, accessible, and wryly funny ... Popular-science writing has rarely been so whip-smart, captivating, or hilarious (albeit occasionally terrifying) -- Sarah Hunter * Booklist *
A fascinating look at the most provocative and promising research going on today and how it could alter the way we work and live * Publishers Weekly *

Author Bio

Dr. Kelly Weinersmith (Author) Dr. Kelly Weinersmith is Adjunct Faculty in the BioSciences Department at Rice University. Kelly's research has been featured in The Atlantic, Science, BBC World, and National Geographic. Zach Weinersmith (Author) Zach Weinersmith is the cartoonist behind the popular geek webcomic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. His work has been featured in The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, Forbes, CNN, Discovery Magazine, and more.