Here Be Dragons
Science, Technology and the Future of Humanity
- Publisher's listprice GBP 41.99
-
18 958 Ft (18 055 Ft + 5% VAT)
The price is estimated because at the time of ordering we do not know what conversion rates will apply to HUF / product currency when the book arrives. In case HUF is weaker, the price increases slightly, in case HUF is stronger, the price goes lower slightly.
- Discount 10% (cc. 1 896 Ft off)
- Discounted price 17 062 Ft (16 250 Ft + 5% VAT)
Subcribe now and take benefit of a favourable price.
Subscribe
18 958 Ft
Availability
printed on demand
Why don't you give exact delivery time?
Delivery time is estimated on our previous experiences. We give estimations only, because we order from outside Hungary, and the delivery time mainly depends on how quickly the publisher supplies the book. Faster or slower deliveries both happen, but we do our best to supply as quickly as possible.
Product details:
- Publisher OUP Oxford
- Date of Publication 21 January 2016
- ISBN 9780198723547
- Binding Hardback
- No. of pages290 pages
- Size 240x161x23 mm
- Weight 576 g
- Language English 0
Categories
Short description:
The 20th and 21st centuries have seen an unprecedented rate of technological development in areas including biotechnology, nanotechnology and machine intelligence. This book is an attempt at a balanced discussion of these various technologies and their potential consequences.
MoreLong description:
There is a widely held conception that progress in science and technology is our salvation, and the more of it, the better. This, however, is an oversimplified and even dangerous attitude. While the future will certainly offer huge changes due to such progress, it is far from certain that all of these changes will be for the better. The unprecedented rate of technological development that the 20th century witnessed has made our lives today vastly different from those in 1900. No slowdown is in sight, and the 21st century will most likely see even more revolutionary changes than the 20th, due to advances in science, technology and medicine. Particular areas where extraordinary and perhaps disruptive advances can be expected include biotechnology, nanotechnology, and machine intelligence. We may also look forward various ways to enhance human cognitive and other abilities using, e.g., pharmaceuticals, genetic engineering or machine-brain interfaces - perhaps to the extent of changing human nature beyond what we currently think of as human, and into a posthuman era. The potential benefits of all these technologies are enormous, but so are the risks, including the possibility of human extinction. This book is a passionate plea for doing our best to map the territories ahead of us, and for acting with foresight, so as to maximize our chances of reaping the benefits of the new technologies while avoiding the dangers.
Here Be Dragons deserves to be read by all scientists and engineers, and especially by ambitious postdocs considering cutting-edge research. His sense of caution is profound, heartfelt and free of Luddite polemic: its a stimulating attempt to balance the pursuit of breakthroughs with old-fashioned humility.... [this book] is an essential provocation.
Table of Contents:
Science for good and science for bad
Our planet and its biosphere
Engineering better humans?
Computer revolution
Going nano
What is science?
The fallacious Doomsday Argument
Doomsday nevertheless?
Space colonization and the Fermi Paradox
What do we want and what should we do?
