- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Phoenix; New edition edition (7 Nov 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0753813807
- ISBN-13: 978-0753813805
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.7 x 2.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,100,670 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
The publication of James Geary's The Body Electric offers evidence that is becoming ever more familiar--and ever more comfortable--with the idea that we live cybernetic lives. We are born in intensive care, and we will die there. We mend our broken hearts with artificial valves; we swallow complex chemical machinery to brush away the difficulties of our lives.
To some degree, then, we read Geary's book purely for comfort: for the thought that, as our own senses begin to fail, cybernetic senses are already being developed that can aid or replace them. As far as that goes, Geary's take on medical technology is entertaining, enthusiastic and free of bombast. But his shop of wonders is much more than a window display. It's informed throughout by philosophical concerns that would (and, if Geary's of a mind, probably should) make books in themselves. There is, for example, his overarching awareness that we are very small, in a very big universe. As such, we can only perceive a tiny fraction of what's out there. When we look at the real world, it's more accurate to say that we're looking at a scale model, filtered by our brains from out of the spew of sensory data with which the world bombards us. This being the case, what are the ethical consequences if we build machines that further filter--or filter in a different way--our experience of the world?
The Body Electric describes wonders enough to satisfy the most jaded technocrat, but big questions are never far below the surface.--Simon Ings --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"Once Geary lures you in, the real fantastical hook is wondering how we failed to notice that the bionic age has already arrived." THE SCOTSMAN "It's a remarkablly fertile, imaginative read." FOCUS "Thankfully, the techonology still needs some tweaking." THE GUARDIAN "This is a fairly fascinating survey byTime magazine journalist James Geary of the current state of cybernetics, that frontier science where biology and technology are merging." THE INDEPENDENT
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First Sentence
At the Roman Catholic primary school I attended a lot of the seven-year-olds, myself included, had taken to misspelling the name of the third person in the Trinity. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
At the Roman Catholic primary school I attended a lot of the seven-year-olds, myself included, had taken to misspelling the name of the third person in the Trinity. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Body Electric deals with the science of the merging of biology and technology. In it, James Geary discusses the advances in biotechnology and provides a glance into the future when new technologies may replace organs and repair and enhance the senses. Devices made of silicon will eventually enhance the human brain and body in ways unheard of today. In the chapter titled Sight/Vision Thing, we learn that computers will be able to analyse facial expressions for various purposes. In the chapters Hearing/Sounds Of Science and Smell/Advances In Odour Space the possibility is raised of transporting odours and flavours via the internet and if this will become just another advertising tool. There are also Taste/Fun With Electric Tongues; Touch/The World Is Your Interface, in which haptic interfaces are discussed, and finally, Mind/The Sixth Sense. The convergence of biology and technology is a fascinating field; this book also addresses some of the psychological, sociological and philosophical implications of these future technologies. The discussion on new bionic senses becoming available is very interesting, like the possibility of seeing infrared and ultraviolet light, plus the possibility of hitherto unknown senses becoming available. The whole framework of existence is changing as the human body becomes electric, opening wider the doors of perception. This great book contains 13 illustrations and concludes with an extensive bibliography and a helpful index.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
The Boom of Biotechnology and its implications
30 May 2003
Format:Hardcover
The Body Electric deals with the science of the merging of biology and technology. In it, James Geary discusses the advances in biotechnology and provides a glance into the future when new technologies may replace organs and repair and enhance the senses. Devices made of silicon will eventually enhance the human brain and body in ways unheard of today. In the chapter titled Sight/Vision Thing, we learn that computers will be able to analyse facial expressions for various purposes. In the chapters Hearing/Sounds Of Science and Smell/Advances In Odour Space the possibility is raised of transporting odours and flavours via the internet and if this will become just another advertising tool. There are also Taste/Fun With Electric Tongues; Touch/The World Is Your Interface, in which haptic interfaces are discussed, and finally, Mind/The Sixth Sense. The convergence of biology and technology is a fascinating field; this book also addresses some of the psychological, sociological and philosophical implications of these future technologies. The discussion on new bionic senses becoming available is very interesting, like the possibility of seeing infrared and ultraviolet light, plus the possibility of hitherto unknown senses becoming available. The whole framework of existence is changing as the human body becomes electric, opening wider the doors of perception. This great book contains 13 illustrations and concludes with an extensive bibliography and a helpful index.
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