Product Description
In Visions, physicist and author Michio Kaku examines the great scientific revolutions that have dramatically reshaped the twentieth century--the quantum mechanics, biogenetics, and artificial intelligence--and shows how they will change and alter science and the way we live.
The next century will witness more far-reaching scientific revolutions, as we make the transition from unraveling the secrets of nature to becoming masters of nature. We will no longer be passive bystanders to the dance of the universe, but will become creative choreographers of matter, life, and intelligence.
The first section of Visions presents a shocking look at a cyber-world infiltrated by millions of tiny intelligence systems. Part two illustrates how the decoding of DNA's genetic structure will allow humans the "godlike ability to manipulate life almost at will." Finally, VISIONS focuses on the future of quantum physics, in which physicists will perfect new ways to manipulate matter and harness the cosmic energy of the universe.
What makes Michio Kaku's vision of the science of the future so compelling--and so different from the mere forecasts of most thinkers--is that it is based on the groundbreaking research taking place in labs today, as well as the consensus of over 150 of Kaku's scientific colleagues. Science, for all its breathtaking change, evolves slowly; we can accurately predict, asserts Kaku, what the direction of science will be, based on the paths that are being forged today.
A thrilling, unique narrative that brings together the thinking of many of the world's most accomplished scientists to explore the world of the future, Visions is science writing at its best.
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Amazon.com Review
Take it easy: that's Michio Kaku's motto. Given the extraordinary advances science has thrown up in time for the millennium, the only way you could possibly fit them into a single volume is by a correspondingly massive simplification. Subtitled How Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century and Beyond, Visions assumes that, by and large, scientists get to do whatever they like, that all technologies are consumer technologies, and that consumers welcome anything and everything science throws at them. Kaku gets away with this frankly dodgy strategy by dint of sheer hard work. He has based his predictions on interviews with more than 150 renowned working scientists; he integrates these interviews with a huge body of original journalistic material; and, above all, he roots that mass of information on an entirely reasonable model of what the purpose of science will be in the third millennium. Up until now, science has expended its efforts on decoding most of the fundamental natural processes--"the dance," as Kaku puts it, of elementary particles deep inside stars and the rhythms of DNA molecules coiling and uncoiling within our bodies. Science's task now, Kaku believes, is to cross-pollinate advances thrown up by the study of matter, biology, and mind--modern science's three main theaters of endeavor. "We are now making the transition from amateur chess players to grand masters," he writes, "from observers to choreographers of nature." Then again, he also believes that "the Internet ... will eventually become a 'Magic Mirror' that appears in fairy tales, able to speak with the wisdom of the human race." Kaku, in short, deserves a good slapping--but he also deserves to be read. --Simon Ings, Amazon.co.uk
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 Great for 1997, not so great for now ( francistapon )
PROS: Sweeping overview of many technological and scientific endevors. Clear, simple writing. Good organization. I loved reading it.
CONS: The copyright is 1997, which means he wrote most of it in 1996, which means that his predictions probably won't be as good as the predictions made today. He leans towards optimism: he thinks that science will triumph in most endevors. He rarely mentions the dark side of science and the evils it may lead too.
CONCLUSION: It's fun to read about what people in 1996 thought life would be like, just like it's fun to read Jules Verne today. However, it's probably better to search for a more up to date book.
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 HS Physics Teacher
Personally the book was stimulating and thought provoking. Since Visions was printed in the late 90's it is very interesting to see the early predictions as part of our life. As a teacher Visions has promoted a vast number of discussions in my classroom. The kids love it and there is something that engages all of my students. It is also written in such a way that you do not need to have a degree in Physics to understand it, at least throught the first 2/3 of the book.
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 Read & Invest
Visions can be broken down into 2 different "main" subjects...computer technology and the medical field, and how they will evolve in the near future; as well as in the distant future.
If you read this book, one of your thought processes should be about investing; especially when the computer chip is no longer made on silicon wafers and tranistors. If you are a person who thinks outside the box, and if you invest in certain companies...you'll see when you done reading this one!
I read this book a few times. My wife also read this, and it sparked an interest in science that she never had. I certainly recommend this book.
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Michio Kaku, Santa Clara County Legend
Michio Kaku was a high school legend in Santa Clara County, long before it was deemed Silicon Valley. His science projects were grandiose and attention-grabbing. He might have been known as the penultimate nerd had that derogatory term existed in the early-1960's.
In short, he was my role model; he left UC-Berkeley with a Ph.D. the same year I entered UCB engineering grad school. I never did meet him, but I kept up with his research, and I have every book he ever wrote.
This book is mind-expanding, with minimal mathematics knowledge required.
It is not bedside reading recreation but a genuine exercise for your imagination.
I've had a four decades-long admiration for this great intellect. Jump on his bandwagon and hang on for the wild ride.
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A seismic shift in my thinking ( mynnie07 )
For me, the best books are the ones that facilitate a fundamental shift in the assumptions I have about the world. A good book will entertain or enlighten, but my list of best books stick with me and continue to make a difference in my life.
I first read this 10 years ago, but it stuck. Here is one example of how Visions did that: In the discussion about computers, he compares it to writing. Writing used to be only for the elite, and was laborous and only for special occasions, like recording the Bible. Then as literacy spread, it became ubiquitous. Writing is so incorporated into every aspect of civilization, we interact with it constantly and barely notice. Writing is on everything. I started looking around my life - the clothes I am wearing, the table and chair I'm sitting at (I crawled under to see the manufacturer stamped on the bottom), even the aspirin I take and candy bars I eat have writing on them. The monks illuminating the copies of the Bible could never have imagined. The analogy is that computers will become ubiquitous, part of everything and so integral to our society we won't even notice. As my GPS says "Turn left now", the coffee maker turns itself on, the baby's rattle plays Mozart, my phone takes a message for me, and I do almost 100% of my written communication through email instead of paper, I sometimes find myself marveling and thinking, What does this mean? What's next? What else don't I notice about my world? What might be the future for this particular technology?
I guess it's hard to explain a shift in thinking, but the result is this: I have a filter of "What is behind the screen and what is possible here" that I don't think I would have had without reading this book 10 years ago. Not only computers, but when I read of advances in medicine or science I have a context for thinking about what it means and what might be next.
I don't know how helpful that was but this is an intriguing book if you, like me, enjoy finding new ways to think about things.
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