Our Molecular Future and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more

List Price: $30.99
Save: $7.44 (24%)

FREE Shipping on orders over $35.

Only 2 left in stock (more on the way).

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Gift-wrap available.

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Buy Used

$5.48

Used: Good | Details

Sold by Dana Park

Fulfilled by Amazon

Condition: Used: Good

Comment: Former library book. Pages are smooth and clear, with minimal folds or creases. Faint smudging to book edges. Minor page curl. No markings or labels other than on covers, title pages and book edges. Minor to moderate surface and edge wear to dust jacket. *** Fast Amazon shipping, delivery tracking number, no-hassle return policy - your satisfaction is guaranteed!

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Our Molecular Future: How Nanotechnology, Robotics, Genetics and Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Our World Hardcover – August 1, 2002

by Douglas Mulhall (Author)

11 customer reviews

See all 4 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Amazon Price New from Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$9.59

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$23.55

$1.78

$0.01

What Alvin Toffler's Future Shock was to the 20th century, Our Molecular Future will be to the 21st century.

What will happen to our jobs, health care, and investments when the molecular revolution hits?
How might artificial intelligence transform our lives?
How can molecular technologies help us cope with climate changes, earthquakes, and other extreme natural threats?
Our Molecular Future explores some intriguing possibilities that answer these questions and many others. Douglas Mulhall describes the exponential changes that are about to be wrought by the nanotechnology and robotic revolutions, which promise to reduce the scale of computing to the nanometerùa billionth of a meterùwhile increasing computing power to almost unimaginable levels.

The resulting convergence of genetics, robotics, and artificial intelligence may give us hitherto undreamed-of capacities to transform our environment and ourselves. In the not-so-distant future, our world may include machines that scour our arteries to prevent heart disease, cars and clothes that change color at our whim, exotic products built in our own desktop factories, and enhancements to our personal financial security despite greatly accelerated obsolescence.

But while technology is making these fantastic leaps, we may also encounter surprises that throw us into disarray: climate changes, earthquakes, or even a seemingly improbable asteroid collision. These extremes are not the nightmare scenarios of sensationalists, Mulhall stresses, nor are many of them human induced. Instead, they may be part of nature's cycleùrecurring more often than we've thought possible.

The good news is that this convergence of catastrophe and technological transformation may work to our advantage. If we're smart, according to Mulhall, we can use molecular machines to protect ourselves from nature's worst extremes, and harness their potential benefits to usher in an economic renaissance.

This visionary link between future technology and past disasters is a valuable guide for every one of us who wants to be prepared for the twenty-first century.

Frequently Bought Together

Price for both: $35.07

One of these items ships sooner than the other. Show details

Buy the selected items together

This item: Our Molecular Future: How Nanotechnology, Robotics, Genetics and Artificial Intelligence Will Transform … by Douglas Mulhall Hardcover $23.55
Understanding Nanotechnology (Science Made Accessible) by Scientific American Paperback $11.52

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Douglas Mulhall

29

Hardcover
Scientific American

11

Paperback
$11.52
K. Eric Drexler

14

Paperback
$55.76
Mark A. Ratner

34

Paperback
$27.41
Eric Drexler

59

Paperback
$11.04

Special Offers and Product Promotions

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When Mulhall sees the future, he pictures every home having a virtually cost-free desktop fabricator, not unlike an ink jet printer, that is able to create any three-dimensional object desired; he envisions being able to change the color of a car, or clothes, simply by speaking. Mulhall, who heads an environmental software consultancy, believes that nanotechnology, the ability to rearrange individual atoms, will lead to technological advances that will change every aspect of our world, including our own species. Mulhall' s exuberance, however, does not fully compensate for his repetitiveness and lack of specificity when he postulates that nanotechnology will lead to such leaps forward in computing power that we will soon create robots capable of independent thought, emotional response and reproduction. We will, he argues, soon be faced with a new species, Robo sapiens, and be forced to deal with the issue of "robot rights." Mulhall urges readers to foster this technology because he believes that it is the only way humans will be able to combat what he claims are the most pressing threats facing our species: massive earthquakes, immense tsunamis capable of inundating the entire east coast of North America and asteroid collisions of the sort that wiped out the dinosaurs. In the end, Mulhall's musings seem more science fiction than science; they are entertaining, but not particularly thought provoking.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Consultant Mulhall takes readers on a speculative tour of how nanotechnology will impact our world over the next decades. Along with describing what MIT types are currently cooking up (electronic paper), Mulhall injects pertinent questions about his topics, for example, whether business is adroit enough to adapt to the new technology; how nanotechnology might improve the environment; and if robotic "transhumans" should have rights. Mulhall contends that humanity is on the cusp of an unpredictably disruptive and decentralizing revolution and spins decidedly weird and disconcerting scenarios of a future of self-replicating nanobots, robo-slaves, and robo-pets. He also speculates on how nanotechnology might defend the planet against disasters such as cataclysmic earthquakes, tsunamis, or asteroids. Mulhall's eclectic tract bursts with amazement at developments in the field, but its very variety and digressiveness make technosavvy enthusiasts its likely audience. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE

Start reading Our Molecular Future on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Product Details

Hardcover: 390 pages
Publisher: Prometheus Books; Second Edition edition (July 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1573929921
ISBN-13: 978-1573929929
Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 1 x 8.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #851,565 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #613 in Books > Science & Math > Experiments, Instruments & Measurement > Methodology & Statistics
- #618 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Engineering > Industrial, Manufacturing & Operational Systems > Robotics & Automation
- #919 in Books > Computers & Technology > Computer Science > AI & Machine Learning

Would you like to update product info, give feedback on images, or tell us about a lower price?

Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars

5 star		73%
4 star		18%
3 star		0%
2 star		9%
1 star		0%

See all 11 customer reviews

Share your thoughts with other customers

Write a customer review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 44 people found the following review helpful

The 21st century will not frighten the horses.

By Dr. Lee D. Carlson HALL OF FAMEVINE VOICE on September 3, 2002

Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase

For optimists and those who find life in the 21st century a complete source of exhiliration, and for those who are indulging themselves in the dizzying pace of technological advancement, this book is sheer delight. Speculative in some points, and gaurded in others, the author has written a book that takes the reader through a future that is not far distant, and a future that is now. Genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, nanoscale computing, and robotics are here, right now, and advances in these areas show every sign of being explosive.
The author asks us to imagine a conversation between a farmer in the year 1899 and a person who rolls up in an early automobile. The driver tells the farmer what is ahead in the next decades, such as playing golf on the moon, his children being able to drive themselves faster than a locomotive, his cows milked using machines, etc. The author then replays the same conversation but with a farmer of the year 2001, he automobile is replaced by a flying car: golf will be played on Mars, and egg hatcheries will be designed by computers that do a better job then humans, agriculture will be replaced by food synthesizers, etc. With these hypothetical conversations, the author asks us to take stock in our skepticism that the future he outlines in the book it too far-fetched.

He is certainly correct in his reasoning. There are too many instances of "famous last words" when it comes to the future of a particular technological development. If one takes cognizance of the many developments that are now occuring simultaneously, it would be hard to tell exactly which ones are going to prevail.Read more ›

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback. If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful

Lets use these technologies to save our future

By Ericson Mar on April 15, 2003

Format: Hardcover

If I had to sum up the main theme of this work, I would say it's about preservation of the human species. A large portion of this work is devoted to how humans (or our progeny) can avoid extinction by natural and man-made disaster. All other discussions seem to lead to this point in one form or another. The author believes that the underlying technologies in the title can and perhaps will provide for our salvation if we play our cards right.
The author has done his research and has a large source of information to draw from. This book gives the reader a good overview of real scientific advancements as well as other insights from prominent leaders and theorists in these fields. There are ample notes and anecdotes to give the reader the option to pursue more detailed information on the topics.
A few parts of the book drag due to some repetitiveness and some of the discussions don't appear to have a firm scientific base and don't seem too plausible, especially if you have decent scientific knowledge in the particular subject. If you are a scientist or engineer with some expertise in the fields you may find that some theories lack a firm foundation. However one theme that comes with the author's optimism is that throughout history, even the most prominent experts have been proven wrong through natural progressions and even breakthroughs!
This work is not incredibly deep or profound though quite entertaining and at times it appears to feel more like a novel than a documentary of the future. It is suitable for readers of all walks of life.

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback. If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful

Nanobacteria, NanoMedicine, Nanotechnology, Oh My!

By A Customer on August 31, 2002

Format: Hardcover

Doug Mulhall is a bold, fluent & brillant writer that is able to communicate with both lay persons and scientists alike....a must read! His description of nanotechnological developments lead us by the hand into the future gently, then exposes the potential harsh realities and wonders that will be available to us. With his command of writing, he explains difficult concepts by making them real. I particularly appreciated him writing about an exciting startup, NanobacLabs Pharmaceuticals that has developed nanobiotics to fight nanobacterial infections. The read led me to a physician that wrote a prescription for NanobacTX that appears to be eradicating my heart disease! I not only enjoyed the book, but he may have ultimately saved my life.....sign me, GRATEFUL.

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback. If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

An Amazing view of the future. Great Book!

By A Customer on August 14, 2002

Format: Hardcover

Fascinating glimpse into the future.
Rarely does one find a book with as many insights into the future as Our Molecular Future. Page after page there are concepts which are entirely foreign to you before reading them, and then seem so self-evident after you have understood them. Clearly, not everything that is depicted in the book is going to come to pass in our lifetimes. However, this was the best book I have read for years. Not since Godel, Escher, Bach have I thought so much while reading!

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback. If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

More like a fancy futuristic trip than an informative tome

By Wellington on January 23, 2009

Format: Hardcover

You can see this book was written by a journalist rather than a scientist.

Yes, it contains a big deal of information, but this is casually scattered all over the text with little resemblance of order. The feeling you get is that the author searched the internet for a few weeks looking for anything he could find about future technologies and than casually slapped the lot on paper interspersing it with his own rants. I'm not saying this is what he actually did, but surely it is what it feels like.

A lot of futuristic gizmos are described but how are they really supposed to work, how likely is that they are ever really realized and when, if ever, they will be available hardly is.
So the author describes how in the future nanobots will swim in our blood vessels cleaning it from all sort of impurities. That's all good and well but how will, in practice, this bots work? How will they be built? Where will they get the energy to function from? What kind of intelligence will they have to perform their task? What are the collateral risks of such technology? When can we expect them to be available? Which scientists and researchers think building such devices is possible and which think it is not, and especially why? This kind of information is hardly present and when it is appears shallow in content and scattered seemingly at random all over the book.

If I wanted fancy scenarios rather than hard facts I would have bought a science fiction novel. As a matter of fact a lot of the gizmos the author mentions I personally already encountered in science fiction, only better explained.

Fact is, if I just wanted scattered information I would have searched the internet myself at a much cheaper cost than the book's. Nowadays most of what you need to know is online, if you buy a book you are looking for a tidy summary and/or a deeper analysis. Did this part of the present technological revolution escape such a futurist author?

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback. If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

See all 11 customer reviews (newest first)

Write a customer review

Most Recent Customer Reviews

Buy the book.

Awesome book.

Published 6 months ago by aline cross

Brilliant!

Written by someone who has an instinct about how the future will turn out to be. I used this book to write my own futurist novel. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Kieran

Already a classic must-read

A very imaginative speculative work about our future: Quoted by many subsequent futurists, including, e.g., Al Gore. Read more

Published 22 months ago by DavidMills

Prophets of Reality

Anyone familiar with Ray Kurzweil and/or the notion of the Singularity will not be surprised by this book. Read more

Published on April 24, 2008 by Avid Reader

Great Book about Nanotechnology.

I have just finished reading this book, and i must say wow! This is a amazing read from start to end. Read more

Published on June 6, 2005 by Eliud Cabrera

Get up to speed on nanotechnology and your future

If there is a better book that can get one up to speed on the ramifications of nanotechnology, then I'd like to know about it. Read more

Published on March 26, 2005 by alien-technology

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more