Tag Archives: science fiction becoming reality

April 18, 2013 · 6:00 am

Nexus by Ramez Naam

Nexus

This is one of those books where the more I think about it, the more I think I liked it.

Nexus is about a drug called – guess what? – Nexus. It’s an illegal nano-drug that exists in 2040, that humans can use to connect; mind-to-mind, brain-to-brain. A young scientist named Kade finds a way to improve Nexus – to make it’s effects permanent. When he’s caught by the government, he’s forced into an international fight between those to want to eradicate Nexus and those who want to unleash it.

My thoughts about this book are so MIXED, but ultimately positive. The book starts off kind of slow – the software lingo was hard to get in to, and I was thiiiiiissss close to DNF-ing it. But then around page 200 BAM! It picked up and I read the next 250 pages in one sitting. I’m glad I stuck with it.

Basically in this near-future, nano-drugs and biological enhancement are a thing. Some humans have gotten things done to them to make them faster, stronger, more durable, etc. Nexus is something considered dangerous by the government, because it gives people the ability to connect their minds – to see memories, read thoughts, communicate telepathically. There are official terms in this world such as “transhuman” and “posthuman”, distinguishing just how many changes a person can make to his or her self before they are no longer considered human, and therefore no longer protected by basic human rights.

The story wasn’t exactly the best. Like I said, it started off slow. I liked the characters Kade and Wats, but felt like we didn’t get to learn quite enough about them. Sam was the other main character, and I think I liked her but she was so messed up that her actions didn’t always make sense to me. But the action definitely picks up in the second half of the book, and I was biting my fingernails while reading because things were getting intense. And it gave me a lot of food for thought – Are we on our way to this kind of future, where bioengineering is so common? When and how will the lines between humans and software machines start to blur? Would I take Nexus if I was in this world?

It made for some really interesting discussions with my honeyman when I was done reading, and I am more curious about some of the nanotechnology presented in the book. I want to check out one of Naam’s other books, a non-fiction book called More Than Human: Embracing the Promise of Biological Enhancement. Oh yeah, Ramez Naam isn’t just some new sci-fi author! He apparently helped invent Internet Explorer and Outlook, and he was the CEO of a nanotechnology company, so he obviously knows his subject matter! I dig that.

OH, and there’s a sequel to Nexus coming out in August! It’s called Crux, and I’m looking forward to reading it.

Sarah Says: 4 stars

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December 21, 2012 · 4:31 am

The Truth About Santa: Wormholes, Robots, and What Really Happens on Christmas Eve by Gregory Mone

 

Oh how fun. This book combined two of my favorite things – Christmas, and theoretical physics. I forget where I heard of this book initially, but I borrowed it from the library and started reading it right away.

Gregory Mone takes all of the questions you may have about Santa – How does he deliver everything in one night? Can reindeer really fly? How does he fit down the chimney? And then he gives you the real, secret answers. It’s not magic, it’s science! Each section of the book tackles an aspect of Santa and unravels the mystery behind it. I bet you didn’t know Santa has a warp-speed sleigh, or that he uses clones to complete all the deliveries in one night, or that they travel via wormholes, or that there are tiny microcameras in your house monitoring whether your children have been naughty or nice.

Whenever Mone introduces us to a new piece of Santa’s gadgetry, he also gives a glimpse as to how we as a scientific community are making progress on these technologies. The science in this book is either being developed or being actively researched, and it was fun to read about some of the things I already heard about. And the writing isn’t dull or bogged down with things too hard to understand – it’s quick, witty, and a bit snarky. Obviously it was perfect for me.

I wouldn’t recommend this to kids, unless they’re in their late teens – the humor and the science would probably be lost on anyone under 16. But it’s still a fun, unique take on Santa and still makes me look forward to Christmas. (Which is only FOUR DAYS AWAY, in case you were wondering.) I think I’ll be buying myself a copy to re-read next year.

 

Sarah Says: 4 stars

 

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July 2, 2012 · 9:41 am

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

 

I’ve been wanting to try out a Michael Crichton novel for a long while now. In fact I have a copy of his book Next at home, but just hadn’t gotten around to it yet. I knew he was a popular author, but thrillers aren’t usually my kind of read and so I think I kept putting it off. But then I came across Hanna’s review of Jurassic Park and it just sounded SO GOOD and now I can proudly say that I’ve read my first Crichton novel and look forward to more. Yay!

Jurassic Park is impressive, way more so than the movie. The movie is all action and look-at-the-cool-CGI-dinosaurs, but the book is really engrossing and intelligent and interesting. For those of you who don’t know the basic premise of the story, an old guy with lots of money buys an island and secretly brings dinosaurs back to life via cloning old DNA. He wants to create a theme park / zoo with real live dinosaurs, and the book takes place when he “invites” some specialists and his grandchildren to the island park to prove that everything is going smoothly and perfectly safe.

And so of course, all hell breaks loose.

My favorite parts of the book were the scientific and philosophical discussions. I liked reading about the technology used to clone extinct animals, and I liked the mathematician’s rants about how screwed up scientists are for messing with nature and chaos theory and such. And while I’m almost always on the side of “scientists shouldn’t mess with stuff and they’ll eventually be the death of us all”… even I would be really curious to see them clone extinct animals. But maybe not dinosaurs. Maybe dodos, like in the Thursday Next books. But I like that all these parts of the book really got me thinking and I didn’t feel like it was total brain candy. Even though this was a good, quick read I still felt like I gained something from it.

And of course, there are some scary and suspenseful parts. Like when the power is out and the T-rex gets out for the first time… there was definitely some nail-biting going on while I read. Crichton did a good job at setting the mood, and making it clear that the characters were really defenseless. I also liked that he switched the POV between characters so often – so many angles and perspectives meant that it never got dull.

As far as the characters go, I like some and hated some others. I really like Ian Malcolm (the mathematician), Alan Grant, and the young boy Tim. And I really hated the little girl Lex because she was SOOOOO WHINY. I would have happily thrown her to some dinosaurs and left her there. And of course the old man behind it all is delusional and irritating.

My only regret is that I hadn’t read this before I saw the movies, because I kept picturing the movie in my head and I would have liked to imagine everything my own way. Luckily, it’s been probably over a decade since I last saw it, and I’m looking forward to re-watching it so that I can nitpick over all the details. Cause that’s what I do.

Overall, this was a really great book and I can see why Crichton was such a popular author. I’m torn about whether or not I want to read the sequel, The Lost World. I read online that he wrote it because after the movie people really wanted a sequel, and I’m not sure it will be as good if it’s something he was pressured into. I am however really looking forward to reading some of his other books, such as Next and Timeline.

 

Sarah Says: 4 stars

 

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April 30, 2012 · 5:00 am

Physics of the Future by Michio Kaku

Physics of the Future book cover, Michio Kaku

Well, this book has given me LOTS to talk and think about. And opened up even more scientific subjects that I want to explore.
 
Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist, and Physics of the Future is a book of his educated guesses as to where technology and science will take us within the next 100 years. In the beginning he does mention that nobody can make 100% accurate predictions for the future, and he does list his basis for making this assumptions – that the prototypes for these technologies already exist, that he was able to interview hundreds of other scientists about their work, and that all of the science mentioned in the book is completely in line with the laws of physics and forces of nature. The biggest obstacle in a lot of these technologies coming to pass is ourselves – what we’re willing to fund, and whether we accept or reject new technology.
 
So, what does the future look like? Awesome. Honestly, I’ve always been the “I hope I’m long gone by the time ____ happens” type, but this book makes me actually feel really excited and hopeful for the future. The chapters are divided by subject matter and are as follows: computers, artificial intelligence, medicine, nanotechnology, energy, space travel, wealth, humanity, and finally a hypothetical look at what a day in 2100 will look like. Each ones delves into the current innovations being explored, and makes predictions for each field in the near future, mid-century, and late-century.
  
I can see a lot of Kaku’s other predictions coming to pass, and I LOVED learning about all of the new advances that are being made. The medicine & nanotechnology chapters was intensely interesting, and I especially loved learning about the advances being made to fight cancer with nanoparticles. (Actually I looked it up online and read this article on ABC News that the first round of human trials just completed, with a very promising outlook.) My other favorite chapter was probably the one on energy, in which he explores the technologies that scientists are experimenting with to find new, less wasteful sources of energy. Learning about the work they’re doing with fusion and the search for a room-temperature superconductor was especially exciting. Also, fans of Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series: He discusses the possibility and probablity of bringing back extinct animals, such as the dodo. Who am I kidding, I found just about everything in this book fascinating.
 

Do I think that wall screens connected to a personalized robot are going to become the norm? No. Not because the technology won’t pan out, but because as a society I think it’s just not something we’ll accept. Our technology is getting smaller and smaller, which is why I do buy his claim that we’ll all have contact lenses or glasses that connect us to the internet. These are already in the making actually, you can watch the video on Youtube. I also don’t think that robots are going to be as widespread – maybe it’s just me, but I don’t want a robot to cook my food or do my cleaning. I trust myself to do those things more, and enjoy doing them myself. And as Michio Kaku points out himself, scientists are having trouble getting robots to do things that require common sense and complete awareness and recognition of their surroundings. Also, the pessimist in me is pretty sure that pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and doctors won’t allow some of the things he predicts for the future of medicine because they’re too greedy and would lose way too much money.

 
Maybe I’m just a giant nerd, but this book was SO interesting and really fun to read. I just want to talk to everybody I know about the ideas discussed in this book. And don’t worry about getting bogged down with too many technical terms – Kaku writes in pretty easy layman language, and he kept me engaged. His passion for science was obvious and brimming with hope and enthusiasm, and it was infectious. Also, the dude is in love with Star Trek. Seriously, Star Trek is his JAM, he brought it up pretty often to help explain things or illustrate his point. He did a good job at giving examples.
 
So, give Physics of the Future a try. You can decide for yourself which of his predictions you agree with and which you don’t. It’s fun. At the very least, you’ll be able look smart in front of your friends while reading it, right? Okay, I’m done rambling now. Someone just please read this book now so I have someone to discuss it with, hmmm? I mean look, it made me go crazy with the bold font. That’s real excitement there.
 
 
Sarah Says: 4 stars

 

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