Future stories: what's next?

Book Cover
Average Rating
Publisher
Little, Brown Spark
Publication Date
2022.
Language
English

Description

The New York Times bestselling author of Origin Story, who Bill Gates has “long been a fan of,” turns his attention to the future of humanity — and how we think about it — in this ambitious book. The future is uncertain, a bit spooky, possibly dangerous, maybe wonderful. We cope with this never-ending uncertainty by telling stories about the future, future stories. How do we construct those stories? Where is the future, the place where we set those stories? Can we trust our future stories? And what sort of futures do they show us? This book is about future stories and future thinking, about how we prepare for the future. Think of it as a sort of User’s Guide to the Future. We all need such a guide because the future is where we will spend the rest of our lives. David Christian, historian and author of Origin Story, is renowned for pioneering the emerging discipline of Big History, which surveys the whole of the past. But with Future Stories, he casts his sharp analytical eye forward, offering an introduction to the strange world of the future, and a guide to what we think we know about it at all scales, from the individual to the cosmological. Christian consults theologians, philosophers, scientists, statisticians, and scholars from a huge range of places and times as he explores how we prepare for uncertain futures, including the future of human evolution, artificial intelligence, interstellar travel, and more. By linking the study of the past much more closely to the study of the future, we can begin to imagine what the world will look like in a hundred years and consider solutions to the biggest challenges facing us all.

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ISBN
9780316497459

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Published Reviews

Publisher's Weekly Review

In this erudite and immersive study, Big History Project cofounder Christian (Origin Story) examines the science and history of "future thinking" and sketches what the distant future might look like. Noting that the mysteries of the future are a fundamental concern for all living organisms, Christian examines how bacteria, animals, and plants manage the future by setting goals, assessing trends, and taking action. For example, E. coli cells contain "whiplike tails," or flagella, that sense the presence or absence of food up ahead and propel the cell in the appropriate direction. Christian also delves into philosophical disagreements over whether change is real or a "seductive illusion"; explains how Einstein's theory of relativity shows that "there is no absolute way of specifying when the past ends and the future begins"; and differentiates between the human experience of natural, psychological, and social time. Looking ahead to the 22nd century and beyond, Christian poses intriguing if hard-to-grasp thought experiments, such as whether "transhumanist technologies and evolutionary adaptations to different environments will split humanity into many subspecies." Though actionable insights are few and far between, Christian lucidly explains complex scientific, philosophical, and historical concepts. The result is a stimulating look ahead. Agent: Max Brockman, Brockman, Inc. (June)

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Library Journal Review

Historian Christian (Origin Story) examines how humans look toward the future, how living things prepare for future eventualities, and conflicting notions of the "future." Is the future a map that one can plan by, or is it a river that can't be controlled? The goal is giving a user's guide to the future. Ideas of philosophers, scientists, theologians, fortune tellers, authors, social scientists, and others are blended to show how the ideas of the future have been managed throughout history. Later chapters look at what humans can or are doing to the planet to change the future existence of all life--some good and some very bad. Christian even looks that the future of the solar system and universe. Ideas included are thoroughly explained and many basics are included to bring the reader up on that theory or idea. Glossary, bibliography, notes and index help readers understand ideas, where to find more information, and quickly find topics. VERDICT Christian, cofounder of the Big History Project with Bill Gates, offers an engaging and accessible look towards the future that makes for good reading.--Ann West LaPrise

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Library Journal Reviews

Cofounder with Bill Gates of the Big History Project and author of the New York Times best-selling Origin Story, Christian typically takes the long look at where we've been. Here he switches gears as he consults theologians, philosophers, scientists, statisticians, and scholars to get a better sense of where we're going. With a 35,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2021 Library Journal.

Copyright 2021 Library Journal.
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Library Journal Reviews

Historian Christian (Origin Story) examines how humans look toward the future, how living things prepare for future eventualities, and conflicting notions of the "future." Is the future a map that one can plan by, or is it a river that can't be controlled? The goal is giving a user's guide to the future. Ideas of philosophers, scientists, theologians, fortune tellers, authors, social scientists, and others are blended to show how the ideas of the future have been managed throughout history. Later chapters look at what humans can or are doing to the planet to change the future existence of all life--some good and some very bad. Christian even looks that the future of the solar system and universe. Ideas included are thoroughly explained and many basics are included to bring the reader up on that theory or idea. Glossary, bibliography, notes and index help readers understand ideas, where to find more information, and quickly find topics. VERDICT Christian, cofounder of the Big History Project with Bill Gates, offers an engaging and accessible look towards the future that makes for good reading.—Ann West LaPrise

Copyright 2022 Library Journal.

Copyright 2022 Library Journal.
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Publishers Weekly Reviews

In this erudite and immersive study, Big History Project cofounder Christian (Origin Story) examines the science and history of "future thinking" and sketches what the distant future might look like. Noting that the mysteries of the future are a fundamental concern for all living organisms, Christian examines how bacteria, animals, and plants manage the future by setting goals, assessing trends, and taking action. For example, E. coli cells contain "whiplike tails," or flagella, that sense the presence or absence of food up ahead and propel the cell in the appropriate direction. Christian also delves into philosophical disagreements over whether change is real or a "seductive illusion"; explains how Einstein's theory of relativity shows that "there is no absolute way of specifying when the past ends and the future begins"; and differentiates between the human experience of natural, psychological, and social time. Looking ahead to the 22nd century and beyond, Christian poses intriguing if hard-to-grasp thought experiments, such as whether "transhumanist technologies and evolutionary adaptations to different environments will split humanity into many subspecies." Though actionable insights are few and far between, Christian lucidly explains complex scientific, philosophical, and historical concepts. The result is a stimulating look ahead. Agent: Max Brockman, Brockman, Inc. (June)

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Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly.
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