Radical Evolution - The Promise and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds- Our Bodies -- and What It Means to Description:

Radical Evolution : The Promise and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds, Our Bodies -- and What It Means to Be Human review:
5 stars ("Enhanced Humans": Never Sleep and They Have Artificial Vision.) - Nanotechnology, communication technology, information technology, robotics, drugs, biology, and genetics all come together in this new book. I had a quick read and heard the author talk at some length on the radio about the book and the subject. From the book and from listening to the author, one is convinced that this is a solid effort. The book gives an overview of new technologies and drugs. The drugs are not your normal medications. They do things such as extend memory. The technologies can give us things such as artificial hearing and artificial sight. He describes how we can use electronic sensors in the brain to control robotics to help the handicapped move limbs. In the past we might have thought that some of these drugs and technologies would be radical, or far off in the distant future, but now many of the technologies are here.



The author is an editor and a reporter at the Washington Post. He has published a number of articles and books including Edge City: Life on the New Frontier and The Nine Nations of North America. The book is entertaining, and the story and writing are probably better than if written by a scientist. In his radio interview, he said that he had travelled extensively to prepare for the book, absorbing new ideas and technologies being tested by drug companies, various universities, government agencies, and in other private industry. According to the author, the products of that research are here or are coming soon.



Part of his challenge was to write a book that brings the reader up to date without sounding too crazy, or too techie, or too far out. If he just presents a lot of "gee whiz" chit chat, the reader will be turned off. After all, he is a Post writer, not a hack gadget salesman. So, he has attempted to explain the social impact as he goes through the book. Also, he does not want to give the impression that it is science fiction that we have here. It is the state of the art and you will be able to buy it soon. So most of what the author presents and discusses is available technology. It is about new drugs being tested and new technology that can enhance performance and the quality of our lives. It does not make us super heroes, but it does introduce many smaller and sometimes subtle but important changes. These changes or enhancements might make us smarter, and a better worker, than someone without access to the drugs and technology. Some of it is amazing.



There are three themes in the book. One is what one might call "enhanced humans". What he discusses are the new drugs coming out that can enhance and extend memory and intelligence. There might be drugs coming out that could even extend life or allow people to work like without sleep, just like Dolphins. That is, to work without sleeping by having part of the brain rest. Another drug with a huge commercial potential would cause a person to lose weight by burning fat. A lot of this research is funded by DARPA, the research arm of the Department of Defence. The idea there is that in the future soldiers could go for days without eating or sleeping. It could have a huge impact on our whole way of life and sleep cycles, such as how far a pilot can fly a plane, delivery people working long shifts, etc. It will take a few of those no sleep pills and a few extended memory capsules, thank you.



A second area or theme is the marriage of high speed electronics with the body: the man-machine interface. Electronic devices have become very small, very powerful, while simultaneously becoming very cheap. They have become almost twice as fast every 18 months for a number of decades. He thinks that the first modest step is the phase out or reduction of writing or typing at computer terminals. It will be replaced by speech readers that will convert text to speech by 2010. As an example, he cites soldiers in Iraq who already use small and compact 5000 word electronic translators or computers mounted on their chests. This whole area of man machine interaction will become a lot less expensive and more popular. There are similar but more complicated applications already in use, such as the Cochlear hearing implant. That device bypasses the ear and takes sound directly to the nervous system, permitting severely deaf people to hear, sometimes for the first time. The author expects that ocular implants are here as well. They allow blind people to see. I will not give the others, you can read the book.



That other theme is how we will use the technology and will it have dire consequences? He thinks that there are three basic scenarios: heaven, hell, or prevail outcomes. The latter is the neutral outcome. He thinks man adapts pretty well and it is likely that we will not see the hell scenario, i.e.: something like nanotechnology taking over our bodies or a virus killing every living thing on the planet. But that outcome is possible. Man has heard the doomsday prediction before in history, at almost every major step in his development, but has survived famines, plagues, ruthless dictators, invasions, slavery, and more. The Europeans lost about 25 million people in WWII, and by some estimates China lost 60 million in the 20th century through famine and war. Are we headed for another disaster with a nano-tech debacle? We are probably going to survive this, and maybe it will solve a few more problems on the way. That is my opinion, and it seems to be shared by the author.



In summary this is a well written and entertaining book that explains how we are entering a period in which we will have better control over the inner working of our body. This new world will be based on new drugs and the marriage of information technology, nanotechnology, bio-genetics, etc. These new technologies have already been developed, albeit in some cases crudely. It is not science fiction but real near term technology. These technologies will change the way we function as people, change or work patterns, improve our memory, bring the blind vision, and introduce a shift in the evolution of humans. It will not be for everyone, but it will be different.



My advice is to give up smoking and get a balanced diet, because these new "enhancements" might give you another 20 years or more. So keep your body in shape and get ready for some miracle pills. You will be able to walk the Great Wall of China on a vacation when you are 80 plus. Stay tuned.



5 stars, good book.
4 stars (I'm not looking forward to having wings!) - Imagine a world in which human beings no longer worry about procuring food. Imagine a world in which disease becomes a thing of the past. Imagine a world in which mortality gives way to human/machine hybrids that can live for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Sounds good, doesn't it? If so, imagine a different sort of world, a world in which a small class of people in possession of this sort of technology genetically engineers babies. Imagine a world in which these same people turn traditional humans into slaves. Imagine, even, the technology in this possible future spiraling out of control and turning the planet into gray sludge. Sounds scary, doesn't it? These two scenarios play a central role in Joel Garreau's "Radical Evolution: The Promise and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds, Our Bodies--And What It Means to Be Human." Another scenario plays out in the book, one in which human beings prevail over sudden technological changes and, by doing so, accept or reject which forms of "radical evolution" to adopt. The subsequent conversation on these three themes fills pages with marvels that boggle the imagination. Could even a fraction of these events really occur in the next twenty to thirty years?



Garreau thinks so, and he begins his examination of GRIN (Genetic, robotic, information, and nanotechnological) advancements by seeking out the wunderkinds working at DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). These are the folks brainstorming such projects as vaccines to prevent pain, suits that can allow soldiers to carry hundreds of pounds of weight with ease, and dozens of other incredible inventions. It was their predecessor, ARPA, which created what we now know as the Internet. As amazing as the ideas flowing out of DARPA sound, it's nothing compared to what inventors such as Ray Kurzweil see in our immediate future. Garreau's conversation with this scientist ushers in the first of our three possible destinies, something the author labels the "Heaven" scenario. In this situation, human beings essentially become deities. Immortality thanks to nanotechnology and genetics research becomes the norm. Computers emerge with the power of hundreds of human brains. Heady stuff, indeed. Unfortunately heaven must have a hell, and that's where people like Bill Joy and Francis Fukuyama enter the picture. They see our future as a bleak existence in which out of control nanotechnology devours every resource on the planet, or one in which humans use this fabulous technology against one another.



Both the heaven and hell scenarios paint human beings as a passive force in the face of increasing technology. The "Prevail" scenario takes the human factor and places it center stage. A position advocated by a guy named Jaron Lanier and others, prevailing over the rise of GRIN essentially means people take a hands on role in new technologies. Rather than losing control of robots and genetic engineering, argues Lanier, humans will use them to strengthen the connections between individuals. The example of cell phones, where people use them to stay in constant touch with others in ways unanticipated by their creators, serves as a prime example of how we bend technology to our will instead of the other way around. No new social classes will arise in the prevail scenario based on technology, nor will the world give up the ghost because of nanotechnology run amok. One assumes that genetic engineering will not sink to the sort of eugenics programs National Socialist Germany dabbled in during the 1940s. Prevail means humanity will change, since change is essential to the human experience regardless of culture or time, but we all will still keep that nebulous essence that makes each of us human.



Intriguing ideas and predictions abound in Garreau's study, far too many to document in a short review. It is possible, however, to point out the flaws in the book. There are several. Perhaps the most annoying aspect of "Radical Evolution" is the author's penchant for a "gee whiz" writing style. It's like reading a book written about Superman by cub reporter Jimmy Olsen. Then there is Garreau's almost unquestioning assumption that the marvels documented in the book constitute an absolute future reality. Sorry to burst your bubble, Joel, but a list of futurists proved incorrect over the ages would run the length of a New York City phone book. The truth is that none of us can adequately predict what will happen two weeks from now, let alone what sort of things could occur in twenty, thirty, or one hundred years. Then there's a troubling emphasis in the book on simply documenting the things science could do for us instead of on the possible problems that could sidetrack any one of these advancements. Garreau does examine a few potential roadblocks to the march of GRIN, but the focus definitely falls on the wonderful and awesome.



I'm happy to see another reviewer identify what is surely the most egregious problem with the book, namely a lack of discussion on transportation in general and fuels in particular. How will any of this stuff come to pass if a substitute for oil does not emerge? Petroleum products aren't just important in transportation; they also provide a number of synthetics and lubricants that technology cannot function without. How can we solve the food problem if we cannot invent a means of transportation that runs on something other than gasoline? Anyway, I'm being a bit harsh on Joel Garreau. "Radical Evolution" is an entertaining and informative read that also poses fundamental questions about our relationship to technology. If the section at the back of the book is any indication, Garreau isn't the only guy writing about what GRIN might mean to the future of the human race. I imagine this book would serve as a good introduction for those seeking to learn more about our possible technological future. I give this one four stars for sheer interest.


5 stars (A fantastic book) - This was a fantastic book to read. I'm a bit saddened that I'm finished reading it. It gives three different looks on the future of humans and human nature. This is a nice way of keeping me open-minded and not swallowing everything I'm reading. It also prevents me from having to read 3 different books to see what the other side is saying. Garreau does lean toward the optomistic side of things. I believe the truth is a mixture of all three of the scenarios.

A must read if you're interested in where humans and human nature may be heading.