This work argues that humans are converging with technology and vice versa, using genetic engineering and biotechnology, computer devices and human information systems as examples. Themes examined include: eugenics, ecology, Greening industry, and moving into the bio-information society.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
From the author of Reality Isn't What it Used to Be, comes a new book questioning the burgeoning enterprise of genetic engineering. Anderson argues that technology, in replicating nature's chemistry, will actually transform the process of evolution, creating man-machine interdependency. While this could permit us to eradicate fatal illnesses or create a "global nervous system" to determine how to manage natural resources, Anderson warns there could be dire consequences. Some people, as they do now, may refuse to accept technology. For those who do accept, comes the responsibility of playing God or becoming a "worldmaker." Anderson believes a moral examination of technology is needed, and that ultimately, some form of governance must be in place.
Review
What's frustrating about this book is that these ideas, inherently interesting and explosive, don't go beyond other recent explorations into the future-is-now. -- The New York Times Book Review, David S. Bennahum
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A bit slow going, but thought-provoking,
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This review is from: Evolution Isn't What It Used to Be: The Augmented Animal and the Whole Wired World (Paperback)
The title is misleading for this book in that it is only peripherally concerned with Darwin's theory. The subtitle is only slightly better. The difficulty in naming this book is its interdisciplinary nature. Anderson covers biology, cybernetics, information technology, agriculture, environmentalism, and genetic research. Although all are specialized fields, Anderson shows how they interact with each other cud every one of us. It is an exciting time to be alive, Anderson says.Like many popular books on science, Evolution starts off slowly. Because Anderson cannot be sure of the background that every reader brings to his book, he spends the first half of each section in a survey of one or two of his inter-connected subjects. Interspersed in the survey are some delectable bits of controversy and discovery, but he saves the items That have the most impact for the last sections. Since the book is organized into four different sections, this makes for a thrilling roller coaster ride through some of the most exiting terrain in science today. In the first 50 pages, I was somewhat bored by Anderson's prose (he is no David Quammen) and slightly skeptical of his early opinions. At the halfway point I realized that I was reading much more smoothly and often nodding my head at the text. When I found myself quoting this book at a business meeting the next day, I knew I was learning from this book. Anderson's basic thesis is that humans have taken control of their own evolution, and the mechanisms of this control are the convergence of biology and technology, and seen today in the growing field of biotech. I have long thought that information is the opposite of entropy (in a local sense) and Anderson closely dovetails into this idea with his concept of information being the control mechanism by which we modify our biological environment. In a sense we have done this in the past, through the use of corrective lenses and vaccines. But these are only baby steps compared to the strides we may be capable of shortly. Anderson's personal background is rooted in the environmental movement (which, if you were unaware of it, you find out in the last section), and his moderate stance on certain issues is quite refreshing compared to the demagoguery we are subjected to daily. While you may disagree with his predictions, it is important to think about and discuss them.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An outstanding book on biotechnology and it future,
By A Customer
This review is from: Evolution Isn't What It Used to Be: The Augmented Animal and the Whole Wired World (Hardcover)
I've read a lot of books on biotechnology, and I have to say that this is my absolute favorite. Dr. Anderson has tremendous insight, and does a nice job explaining this how this tremendously powerful technology is going to affect all of us, and in fact already does. An excellent book.
2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A superficial book based on unfair generalizations.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Evolution Isn't What It Used to Be: The Augmented Animal and the Whole Wired World (Paperback)
Anderson argues that evolution has accelerated tremendously as a result of the "augmentation" of humans through technology. Because Anderson is so enthralled with technological developments, he doesn't pay much attention to the downside. He breathlessly reports on one invention after another without acknowledging that they don't always work the way they're supposed to. For example, he talks about the wonders of penile implants without saying a word about all the problems people have experienced with them. Anderson talks in grant generalizations that are removed from concrete reality. He likes to think of himself as the practical guy in the middle of the extremists of the right and left, but he is basically setting up straw men; he exhibits little interest in trying to understand where they are really coming from. So, for example, he portrays what he calls "the Far Green" as follows: "By demonizing technology, it renders itself incapable of helping us to understand life in a high-technology, informatizing world." If he stopped to think about what he means by "demonizing technology," he would realize how nonsensical his charge is. There are legitimate criticisms to be made of some environmentalists, but Anderson makes no attempt to evaluate them fairly.
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