- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Saint Martin's Press Inc. (6 Oct 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0312371578
- ISBN-13: 978-0312371579
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.5 x 2.8 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,124,777 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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The biologists tell us that we are no different to the original humans 100,000 years ago. This remarkable book shows how we have become much, more than Human 1.0
Dr Peet Morris. Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford
Product Description
Biologically, human beings haven't changed in 100,000 years, but thanks to our amazing brains we can upgrade ourselves add capabilities that took other creatures millions of years evolve. Thanks to this 'unnatural' evolution we are already Human 2.0. In the effort to stay alive, reproduce and make mo of brains, we have transformed ourselves. Now with a better understanding of the mechanisms of the body, cloning, gene therapy, bionics, and other technologies, our rate of change getting ever faster. This process of upgrading is nothing new. It has been around for millennia, and it raises some provocative questions. What will the future hold? Will our drive to upgrade continue to give positive benefits, or will it result in destruction? Where is our evolutionary survival heading? Sure to cause much debate, "Upgrade Me" is science journalist Brian Clegg's ambitious and brilliant account of humanity's need to upgrade.
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2 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
All Over The Place
15 April 2009
Format:Hardcover
I picked up this book because of its fascinating subject: the ongoing technical evolution of human beings, via genome modification and embedded computing, into something more: call it "cyborgs," or "Human 2.0". However, as it turns out, most of the book is not about that!
Clegg writes mostly about technological evolution in the past, external things like clothing and cars and whatnot that increased human capacities but did not change the human body itself. Direct technological enhancement of the body and brain is discussed only briefly, for example in parts of Chapter 2 (life extension) and Chapter 6 (brain implants).
The book is written for readers who really do not know the first thing about technology, and information is communicated at the most basic, dinner-party conversational level. We are told that clothing was invented for protection and ornament, that airplanes were invented for flight, and so on.
"Upgrade Me?" Well, maybe, but this book doesn't make the grade.
Clegg writes mostly about technological evolution in the past, external things like clothing and cars and whatnot that increased human capacities but did not change the human body itself. Direct technological enhancement of the body and brain is discussed only briefly, for example in parts of Chapter 2 (life extension) and Chapter 6 (brain implants).
The book is written for readers who really do not know the first thing about technology, and information is communicated at the most basic, dinner-party conversational level. We are told that clothing was invented for protection and ornament, that airplanes were invented for flight, and so on.
"Upgrade Me?" Well, maybe, but this book doesn't make the grade.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
All technology is an attempt to transcend human nature, we may succeed in the end, for good
21 Feb 2009
Format:Hardcover
This is a very good read on why human enhancement has been good for us and why we should continue to enhance ourselves. Although the subtitle of the book is "Our Amazing Journey to Human 2.0," the first two-thirds of the book is a look back in history. It explains in detail the central point that all technology is an attempt to transcend human nature. We have been enhancing ourselves since the beginning - the first woven garment, for example, appeared as early as 25,000 B.C. From wearing eyeglasses to drinking coffee, once a new technology has proven to work and become affordable, we all love to embrace it and gradually take it for granted.
The big difference today is emerging new technologies are not just providing add-ons and networking capabilities to the human body, but also approaching the threathold of modifying the core of human nature. So the rest of the book effectively addresses various concerns about changing ourselves.
Will cognitive enhancement make us dumber somehow? No, the author points out that "When the slide rules were replaced by the calculators, everyone said the next generation won't understand math the same way - it didn't happen. When computers came along, many predicted that learning as we know it would collapse. It didn't."
Will genetic tinkering lead to catastrophe? Not necessarily. In fact, commenting on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein story, Clegg said, "Biologically speaking, every one of us is a particular kind of monster - a mutant." (more details on blog www.2CoBe.com)
The book ends with a healthy dose of realism: "It would be foolish to portray our ability to enhance ourselves as wholly positive." Risk is unavoidable, though it can be managed with our conscious efforts.
The big difference today is emerging new technologies are not just providing add-ons and networking capabilities to the human body, but also approaching the threathold of modifying the core of human nature. So the rest of the book effectively addresses various concerns about changing ourselves.
Will cognitive enhancement make us dumber somehow? No, the author points out that "When the slide rules were replaced by the calculators, everyone said the next generation won't understand math the same way - it didn't happen. When computers came along, many predicted that learning as we know it would collapse. It didn't."
Will genetic tinkering lead to catastrophe? Not necessarily. In fact, commenting on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein story, Clegg said, "Biologically speaking, every one of us is a particular kind of monster - a mutant." (more details on blog www.2CoBe.com)
The book ends with a healthy dose of realism: "It would be foolish to portray our ability to enhance ourselves as wholly positive." Risk is unavoidable, though it can be managed with our conscious efforts.
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