Soonish: Emerging Technologies That Will Improve And/or Ruin Everything

Author(s): Kelly Weinersmith; Zach Weinersmith

Science & Natural History

From a top scientist and the creator of the hugely popular web comic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, a hilarious investigation into future technologies - from how to fling a ship into deep space on the cheap to 3-D organ printing.


What will the world of tomorrow be like? How does progress happen? And why do we not have a lunar colony already? What is the holdup?


In this smart and funny book, celebrated cartoonist Zach Weinersmith and noted researcher Dr. Kelly Weinersmith give us a snapshot of what's coming next - from robot swarms to nuclear fusion powered-toasters. By weaving their own research and interviews with the scientists who are making these advances happen, the Weinersmiths investigate why these technologies are needed, how they would work, and what is standing in their way.


New technologies are almost never the work of isolated geniuses with a neat idea. A given future technology may need any number of intermediate technologies to develop first, and many of these critical advances may appear to be irrelevant when they are first discovered. The journey to progress is full of strange detours and blind alleys that tell us so much about the human mind and the march of civilization. To this end, Soonish investigates 10 different emerging fields, from programmable matter to augmented reality, from space elevators to robotic construction, to show us the amazing world we will have, you know, soonish.

49.99 AUD

Stock: 0


Add to Wishlist


Product Information

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 *

General Fields

  • : 9781846148996
  • : Penguin Books, Limited
  • : Particular Books
  • : 0.992
  • : September 2017
  • : 22.20 cmmm X 16.80 cmmm
  • : United Kingdom
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : 304
  • : 1
  • : Hardback
  • : Kelly Weinersmith; Zach Weinersmith