Embracing the Promise of Biological Enhancement
I don’t know if it’s the sheer number of books that I’ve read on human enhancement recently or what, but the contents of this book seem to have blended with every other thing about the subject.
Ramez Naam is an optimist about the future of biological enhancement, but he calls himself a “cautious optimist.” He believes that upcoming scientific breakthroughs will do more harm than good. However, we must account for ethics and social needs first.
As recently as 1999, when a friend told him about future technology, he waved it off as if it was just crazy sci-fiction-nerd talk. A breakthrough came that year when Phil Kennedy implanted an electrode into a paralyzed patient’s brain that allowed the patient to move a cursor on a computer. The patient moved the cursor by thought alone.
This was one of many sci-fi-like phenomena that happened in that year. Suddenly, the world was starting to change.
Naam’s report on advancements and social concerns brings to light what could actually be happening in the decades to come and how we should prepare for it. He writes about designer babies, Methuselah’s genes, and choosing our minds and bodies.
The book is short though. It doesn’t cover as much ground as it needs for the many subjects he brings into the discussion. However, it does offer somewhat of an introductory to biological enhancement.
What the author does offer is good, rational reasoning to seeing this thing through. He makes logical claims as to why we need the science of the future, and backs them up with solid examples. He makes his case socially and ethically, allowing for his optimistic view of the coming years.
Naam writes in an easy, free-flowing prose that will keep you interested from start to finish. Just don’t look for a comprehensive look at the future. It will serve as a good starter book for anyone interested in reading about human enhancement. But, if you’re like me, and have read quite a bit on the subject matter, then you might want something a little more in-depth.
A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
A couple of months ago I stumbled upon this book by way of Amazon’s suggested products. I figured it looked interesting enough. And I’m not an economics buff, but Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubman changed my mind about that.
With parts named What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common?, How is the Ku Klux Kan Like a Group of Real Estate Agents?, and Why Do Drug Dealers Still Live with Their Moms?, how can anyone go wrong in wanting to read this book?
Levitt has came under a lot of heat in recent years with his rebellious take on why crime suddenly took a dive in the ’90s, a time when it was predicted to increase to an all-time high. His answer: Abortion. He argues that the 1973 case of Roe vs. Wade, which made abortion legal in the U.S., sent crime skydiving in the ’90s because the people most likely to be criminals weren’t being born. And he has some compelling data to back it up.
Interested now?
What really gets the economist and journalist (Dubner) rolling is the idea of incentives. The reason people take action or become inactive is because of the incentives. Would a schoolteacher cheat for students taking the SATs? Would a sumo wrestler (probably the most prestigious sport in Japan, I read) let someone else beat him in a match? It all comes down to incentives.
The authors offer an entertaining read, and a side of economics that isn’t typically seen. Levitt claims to be the worst economist because he’s bad at math. So, he must take a look at the things most economists never bother with.
Even if you’re not interested in economics, this book will allow you to think outside the box about the way the world works. Plus, the name of the book is cool.
I finally got around to reading this collection of books. And trust me, it took a while. I think I was supposed to read this collection back when I was a kid. I actually can’t recall ever hearing about C. S. Lewis’ books until a few years ago. Nevertheless, I’m glad I got to read all 767 pages of this bound collection.
Lewis is a master of making you believe in his fantastic world of Narnia and rooting for the kids throughout each book. I’ll go over a few of my favorite books in the series.
The Magician’s Nephew really introduced me to the world of Narnia. It might even be the best book. I think there’s so much more of a spiritual/religious element in this one that you don’t get in any of the others until the last book. There was such beauty in imagining Aslan awakening the world through song, breathing life into the land.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe gave us Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, the premier characters in many of the books. I actually enjoyed reading it, even after having seen the movie, which is rare.
The Last Battle really completed the collection with the spiritual/religious aspect from the first book. I felt a real sadness about Susan and what happens to her (I won’t give any specific details, in case you haven’t read the book yet). Lewis pulls the completion of Narnia off well in an even more fantastic way than I could have imagined.
The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and The Silver Chair were all well-written, but didn’t hold my attention as much as the others.
There were times when I couldn’t get past the language and style the books were written in, but the books were intended for a younger audience. Thus, there were passages where I became a little bored. The work, in its entirety, is a masterpiece though.
I recommend Narnia to everyone. It is the kind of timeless book that I’ll keep shelved for my own children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to read in the future.
The Promise and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds, Our Bodies — and What It Means to Be Human
I admit it. I’m a sucker for reading books about upcoming scientific breakthroughs. Yes, that may make me a bit of a nerd, but I like reading them anyway.
Joel Garreau has written one of the easier-to-read books of the variety though. This book was meant for an audience outside the realm of people who haven’t left the science lab since the ’80s.
This is the book for the rest of us.
Garreau even mentions our old pal Ray Kurzweil (from The Singularity is Near) and Bill Joy, Kurzweil’s nemesis (and you can read a 10 page research paper on Joy and Kurzweil by me, just ask if you’re interested). He explains what these guys have been saying for years, only in terms that the Bubbas and Suzies of the world can understand.
The most interesting parts of the book is the three scenarios he sets up to explain where humankind is heading. The Heaven Scenario. The Hell Scenario. The Prevail Scenario.
The Heaven Scenario is Kurzweil’s idea of The Singularity, where humans may become godlike. Technology takes control, and humans are merely spectators in this prediction. However, this technology is driving human advancement past what we consider science fiction today conquering disease, famine, and death itself.
The Hell Scenario is the opposite, which is why Joy argues against scientific advancement. He doesn’t want us to destroy ourselves with our technology (just read his article, Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us, he might convince you). Signs that we are entering the hell scenario: large numbers of people die off, the biosphere is being eaten away, there is no discussion of stopping technology from advancing.
In the Prevail Scenario he states that “Humans have an uncanny history of muddling through” (224). Humans will inevitably forge their own futures against overwhelming odds and come out all right. This is the scenario upheld by Jaron Lanier.
This is an easy read for people who wouldn’t be able to make it through an issue of Popular Science without saying, “Huh.” Garreau breaks down each part, and explains with clarity what the future might lead to.
The discussion on future technology is a discussion in which everyone should take part. However, we must understand what all the fuss is about to do so. This book will give you the key terms and the major players, allowing a new understanding of what the future of our race might be.
I picked up Maximum Ride after reading James Patterson’s When the Wind Blows and The Lake House in anticipation of more thrills from his extraordinary bird-children. Of course, that’s exactly what I got. (Note: These aren’t the same children from his previous books, though some of the names are the same, they’re still bird children, and the School is the place where the children were created.)
Fourteen-year-old Max takes her six bird-children gang (Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel) along for a ride in which they narrowly escape wolfman creatures (Erasers), learn they each are growing new abilities, and back to the dreaded School. And they do not want to go back there. That’s where they and the Erasers were created. They escaped from the School two years ago and were finally free from the experiments and training.
Problems arise when Angel, the youngest of the four, is kidnapped. The rest of the gang is bewildered as to why they only took Angel and not any of them. Angel has a secret ability that none of them knew about. Now, the remaining five must go back to School in order to save her.
Patterson never fails to deliver an entertaining read. I’m still looking for a more humanistic side of the bad guys though. But, then again, people love to hate the bad guys. He still puts together decent story nonetheless, but it is almost redundant at some points, the similarities from his first two (unrelated) books.
The action doesn’t stop on any turn of the page or indent of the paragraph, which has been typical of all the bird-children books he’s written so far.
But, this book is only the tip of the mystery-filled iceberg for the six children. The author leaves many questions unanswered, which could turn away readers who like a clear-cut resolution by the end. I know this is the beginning of a series, but a little more resolution would have went a long way. However, the unanswered questions open countless possibilities for the future. Possibilities that I hope are fully realized in the next book.
Now, on to Maximum Ride: School’s Out—Forever
