Home    New Authors    New Books    Coming Soon    Most Popular    Top Authors
<< Previous bookNext book >>
book cover of 

The World of 2044 

Technological Development and the Future of Society 

by

Charles SheffieldThe World of 2044 (1994)
Technological Development and the Future of Society
A non fiction book by Charles Sheffield

 
Predicting the future has always fascinated and interested humankind. This interest has not been limited to just knowing the future but with being able to influence the future in one way or another. Predicting or influencing the future of a physical system is, in principle, possible. Predicting the future of humanity in general, or of a social group in particular, is a much more difficult, almost impossible task. Social evolution is critically affected by ideological, political, religious, and military leaders, whose appearance and subsequent actions are impossible to predict. The "human factors" affecting the development of society are so unpredictable that a comprehensive forecast of the human future must be intrinsically flawed. At best, we can guess some possible scenarios. Beyond ideology, politics, and religion, one other human factor exerts an enormous influence on social evolution - "science and technology." The list of science and technology discoveries and inventions that have produced profound social changes includes fire, agriculture, metallurgy, gunpowder, the printing press, steam power and electricity. Yet none of these were the result of any desire to achieve social change. The last five decades have seen technological developments at an unprecedented scale; they are likely to exert an even more profound impact on the coming five decades. The technological forecasts in this book look specifically at developments in materials, energy, transportation, robotics, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, biotechnology, medical technology, new human habitats, and communications. What we make of technological advances is largely a result of political and moral values. The benefits of technology can be used by elites for their own gain, by tyrants to oppress, or can be shared by all. History has shown that human beings can use technology to create a heaven or a hell, a utopia or a dystopia.

 
Used availability for Charles Sheffield's The World of 2044


See all available used copies of this book at: Abebooks UK or Abebooks US
 

 

Hardback Editions

August 1998 : Hardback
Cover of ISBN: 0943852498Title: World of 2044
Author(s): Charles Sheffield
ISBN: 0-943852-49-8 / 978-0-943852-49-2 (USA edition)
Publisher: Paragon House
Availability: Amazon   Amazon UK   Amazon CA   
More details...

Paperback Editions

August 1998 : Paperback
Cover of ISBN: 0943852579Title: World of 2044
Author(s): Charles Sheffield
ISBN: 0-943852-57-9 / 978-0-943852-57-7 (USA edition)
Publisher: Paragon House
Availability: Amazon   Amazon UK   Amazon CA   
More details...

 


Search for    

© 2012 FantasticFiction
Questions? Comments? Corrections? Please email webmaster@fantasticfiction.co.uk