The coming convergence

The surprising ways diverse technologies interact to shape our world and change the future

275 pages • ISBN 978-1-59102-613-6 • Hardcover: $27.95 Click here for more information.

Imagine direct communication links between the human brain and machines, or tailored materials capable of adapting by themselves to changing environmental conditions, or computer chips and environmental sensors embedded into everyday clothing, or medical technologies that eliminate currently untreatable conditions such as blindness and paralysis. Now imagine all of these developments occurring at the same time. Far-fetched? Not so. These are actually the reasonable predictions of scientists attempting to forecast a few decades into the future based on the rapid pace of innovation.

Author Stanley Schmidt Click here for more information.

Author Stanley Schmidt—physicist, writer, and Editor of ANALOG: SCIENCE FICTION AND FACT—explores these and many more amazing yet probable scenarios in THE COMING CONVERGENCE: THE SURPRISING WAYS DIVERSE TECHNOLOGIES INTERACT TO SHAPE OUR WORLD AND CHANGE THE FUTURE (Prometheus, $27.95), which NEW SCIENTIST says, "does an excellent job of highlighting how all sorts of technologies have historically converged to create new and unanticipated possibilities." In this fascinating guide to the near future, Schmidt uses his scientific knowledge and expertise to show how past convergences have led to today's world, then considers tomorrow's main currents in biotechnology, cognitive science, information technology, and nanotechnology. Looking even further downstream, he foresees both exciting and potentially dangerous developments:

• Longer, healthier lives

• Cheap, generally available food, energy, and technology

• Reduced pollution and environmental stress

• Excessive power in too few hands

• Increased vulnerability from overdependence on technology.