000 02310nam a2200205 a 4500
001 046880
005 20231009192924.0
008 110207t2005----nyu-----------000-u-eng-u
020 _a9780385509657
082 0 _a128 GAR
100 1 _aGarreau, Joel
245 1 0 _aRadical evolution
_b: the promise and peril of enhancing our minds, our bodies -- and what it means to be human
_c/ Joel Garreau
260 _aNew York
_b: Doubleday
_c, c2005.
300 _a384 p.
_c; 25 cm.
520 _aIn Radical Evolution, bestselling author Joel Garreau, a reporter and editor for the Washington Post,shows us that we are at an inflection point in history. As you read this, we are engineering the next stage of human evolution. Through advances in genetic, robotic, information and nanotechnologies, we are altering our minds, our memories, our metabolisms, our personalities, our progeny and perhaps our very souls. Taking us behind the scenes with today's foremost researchers and pioneers, Garreau reveals that the super powers of our comic-book heroes already exist, or are in development in hospitals, labs, and research facilities around the country -- from the revved up reflexes and speed of Spider-Man and Superman, to the enhanced mental acuity and memory capabilities of an advanced species. Over the next fifteen years, Garreau makes clear, these enhancements will become part of our everyday lives. Where will they lead us? To heaven where technology's promise to make us smarter, vanquish illness and extend our lives is the answer to our prayers? Or will they lead us, as some argue, to hell where unrestrained technology brings about the ultimate destruction of our entire species? With the help and insights of the gifted thinkers and scientists who are making what has previously been thought of as science fiction a reality, Garreau explores how these developments, in our lifetime, will affect everything from the way we date to the way we work, from how we think and act to how we fall in love. It is a book about what our world is becoming today, not fifty years out. As Garreau cautions, it is only by anticipating the future that we can hope to shape it.
650 4 _aTechnology
_x-Risk assessment
650 4 _aSociology
_x-Evolution
_x-Technology
655 7 _aScience fiction
942 _cMO
999 _c252037
_d252037