Homo Evolutis (Kindle Single) (TED Books) [Kindle Edition]

Steve Gullans (Author), Juan Enriquez (Author)

Book Description

There have been at least 25 prototype humans. We are but one more model, and there is no evidence evolution has stopped. So unless you think Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern are the be all and end all of creation, and it just does not get any better, then one has to ask what is next? Juan Enriquez and Steve Gullans, two of the world's most eminent science authors, researchers, and entrepreneurs, answer this by taking you into a world where humans increasingly shape their environment, their own selves, and other species. It is a world where our bodies harbor 100 times more microbial cells than human cells, a place where a gene cocktail may allow many more to climb an 8,000 meter peak without oxygen, and where, given the right drug, one could have a 77 percent chance of becoming a centenarian. By the end you will see a broad, and sometimes scary, map of life science driven change. Not just our bodies will be altered but our core religious, government, and social structures as humankind makes the transition to a new species, a Homo evolutis, which directly and deliberately controls its own evolution and that of many other species.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The argument presented in Homo Evolutis is simple: sooner or later humans will evolve into a new species. The explanation of how we get there is a riveting tour through religion, culture, and the newest scientific experiments, medical research, and technological advances--the forces speeding us inexorable away from being homo sapiens and toward a new species. The authors create a complete story by linking a chain of fascinating subjects together--genetic therapy, intestinal parasites, gut bacteria, 'downloading' of brain information, performance-enhancing surgeries, tissue engineering, hybrid animals (Zonkeys and Grolars?), a brief history of past hominids that once lived alongside us, and more. All these combine to tell the story of where we are going as a species. With an entertaining style, a comical tone, and a mixed use of fonts and formatting, this Kindle Single leaves readers with a deep sense of wonder and a multitude of new and bizarre facts that beg to be shared with anyone who might listen. --Paul Diamond

Product Details

• File Size: 1056 KB
• Print Length: 58 pages
• Publisher: TED Books (January 26, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004KSREFC
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,634 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #4 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Science > Biological Sciences > Biotechnology
  • #4 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Biotechnology
  • #9 in Kindle Store > Kindle Singles > The Sciences

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 40 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars how to undermine your own thesis April 3, 2011

By Chris M

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Fascinating idea.

I was looking forward to seeing how the authors feel the

human
species

might evolve.

Unfortunately the writing and formatting styles in
this
ebook

Make
it

virtually

unreadable.

and

___________________________________________impossible

_____________________________________________________________________to take

________________________________________________________________________________________seriously!

56 of 68 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Unreadable February 17, 2011

By Dr. Bojan Tunguz HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition

I am a big techno-geek and I am fascinated with all sorts of recent scientific and technological developments. In recent years the explosion of new discoveries and advancements in biotechnology has considerably raised the stakes in what kind of new advancements lay in the years ahead. As I write this the cover story for the Time magazine proclaims 2045 as the year when humans achieve immortality. Whether you accept that idea or not, it is quite clear that significant new developments in the upcoming years will challenge our very ideas of what is human. In a nutshell this seems to be the idea behind "Homo Evolutis" - humanity will soon enough be in control of its own evolution. In the light of all the recent and upcoming advancement, this seems like a fairly reasonable premise, albeit one that skirts the very edges of science. I was very curious to find out more, so I picked up and started reading this Kindle single. I've read a couple of Kindle singles before, so I was expecting if nothing else a fairly high level of expository writing. However, from the very outset this single turned out to be unlike anything else that I had come across in all of my reading experience. Instead of flowing prose this single is constructed out of short, brusque paragraph that are formatted in different style fonts and are separated with large gaps of empty space. First I thought that this was just the feature of the introduction, but then it turned out to be the way that this entire singe was written. In addition to that, the style of writing is very confrontational at times. The authors have many attempts at the edgy humor, but these invariably end up being sophomoric or crass. They are also very glib at offending various groups and individuals. This may be OK for the profile of the audience that attends TED conferences, but if they are aiming for a much wider readership then they are definitely doing themselves a disservice. I have nothing in principle against being a bit offensive, but the way these guys go about it leaves no room for subtlety or good-faith criticism. Furthermore, I didn't find the ideas in this single all that original, so after reading a couple of chapters I decided to give up. The overall experience was getting to be too painful.

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Say what? February 11, 2011

By Daniel Silva

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

In general, a thought provoking and entertaining read. One problem - with the spaced out formatting you end up hitting the next page button about every 10 seconds - kind of annoying.

This statement, ( approx loc 1550 ) however made me do a double take:

" Our average shoe size has increased fourfold in the last century".
I don't think so. If the average size was formerly 5, it has now increased to 20? I picture people flopping around on giant clown-feet.

Admittedly, a minor point - but it makes me dubious about the content of the book.