Future Rising: A Journey from the Past to the Edge of Tomorrow (Future of Humanity, Social Aspects of Technology) (Analyzing the Future)

A scientist offers compelling visions and potential pitfalls of the future—in “a journey through time, space, and the human experience” (Dr. Tanya Harrison, coauthor of For All Humankind). Humanity has gained the ability not only to imagine the future, but to design and engineer it. At times entertaining, and at others profound, Future Rising provides an original perspective on our relationship with the future. As a species, we've become talented architects of our future—yet we often struggle to come to terms with what this means. As innovation and rapidly shifting norms and expectations drive our world at breakneck speed, we sometimes need to find a still, quiet place to pause and think. Future Rising creates such a place, where we can take advantage of our species'knowledge of world history and the importance of science to piece together a positive future. To create a good future, we must rediscover the past. Our relationship with the future is inextricably intertwined with where we've come from, who we are, and what we aspire to. Future Rising starts at the beginning of all things with the Big Bang and traces a pathway along the emergence of intelligent life, through what makes humans uniquely capable of imagining and creating different futures. In a series of sixty short reflections, Andrew Maynard, a former physicist and nationally recognized expert in technology and society, will take you on a journey into: What “the future” actually isHow it molds and guides our livesHow we can use the history of the world to change our future “A thoughtful and thought-provoking response to the moment we're in, chronicling how we got here, where we're going, and what role we have in that journey.” —Ramona Pringle, Director of Creative Innovation Studio and Associate Professor, Ryerson University Embark on a journey into the future. The future holds a unique fascination for most of us. Simultaneously unknowable yet strangely malleable, it saturates our lives as completely as the air we breathe. Yet how many of us can truly say that we understand what the future is, and how were connected to it? In Future Rising, Andrew Maynard takes you on a remarkable journey from the Big Bang to our collective responsibility to future generations. Weaving together ideas and insights from science, philosophy, art, and more, Future Rising traces a pathway along the emergence of intelligent life, through what makes us uniquely capable of imagining and creating different futures, to the profound challenges and opportunities that come with this. Through sixty short reflections, Future Rising reveals a compelling vision of the future and how it impacts our lives. Beguiling, serendipitous, often-startling, and ultimately life-affirming, Future Rising will change how you think about the future and your relationship with it. "As a species, we have become profoundly talented architects of our own future. And yet, we so often struggle to come to terms with what this means and the responsibility that comes with this ability. As our world is driven along by the breakneck speed of innovation and rapidly-shifting norms and expectations, we sometimes need to find a still, quiet place to pause and think. Future Rising sets out to create such a quiet place, where we can take advantage of our species' knowledge of the environment, world history, and the importance of science to piece together a positive picture of the future."--Publisher's description