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hidingzeus's review
informative
medium-paced
2.5
Didn't really add to anything I already knew. It covers so much science that it can only do so on a surface level and doesn't get very deep into the sci-fi which I would have liked more of.
ninjalawyer's review against another edition
3.0
Shallow futurism married to dull sci-fi.
This one is super disappointing - I love Dr. Novella’s work on the Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe podcast, and some of the deep dives he does on his blog, but this was seriously challenging to not abandon. Anyone into sci-fi books and movies should be especially hesitant to pick this up - it’s all going to be a rehash of the last few decades of genre cliches, at least for the first half.
The first half is particularly dull. This one sees Novella talking about current tech (self-driving cars, stem cells, gene manipulation, etc.), which tended to be at a YA level of complexity, and then extrapolating that tech far into the future. The initial explanation will be trite to anyone who has read the news in the last 5 years, and the extrapolations are straight out of sci-fi films.
Early on, Novella gestures at the fact that just because a tech can work doesn’t mean it will take off if society rejects it or certain uses of it (e.g., we don’t clone people just because we can), but the predictions never get into an interesting level of discussion. It’s impossible to read these sections, and not think “Well maybe, but you haven’t given me any reason to think your version is likely.” There’s just nothing here that rises above the level of mainstream sci-fi, and there’s none of the cutting skepticism and insights that Novella is known for.
The writing in this half doesn’t do the book any favours either. The punch from Novella’s blog is absent, with the book feeling over-smooth as if it was edited by committee and had all the chunky/interesting bits sandblasted off. It’s also peppered with references to sci-fi books and movies that will mean nothing to non-fans and are obvious to fans.
There are actual sci-fi shorts interspersed between some chapters, but I ended up skipping these after the first. They seemed present merely to occupy pages.
The second half is significantly better. It’s about future tech, and Novella actually applies some skepticism here and the writing seems much improved. I’m not sure if Novella found his groove here, or if he ejected one or both of the co-writers (which are much less prominently featured on the cover), but the whole book could’ve used whatever the case.
This one is super disappointing - I love Dr. Novella’s work on the Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe podcast, and some of the deep dives he does on his blog, but this was seriously challenging to not abandon. Anyone into sci-fi books and movies should be especially hesitant to pick this up - it’s all going to be a rehash of the last few decades of genre cliches, at least for the first half.
The first half is particularly dull. This one sees Novella talking about current tech (self-driving cars, stem cells, gene manipulation, etc.), which tended to be at a YA level of complexity, and then extrapolating that tech far into the future. The initial explanation will be trite to anyone who has read the news in the last 5 years, and the extrapolations are straight out of sci-fi films.
Early on, Novella gestures at the fact that just because a tech can work doesn’t mean it will take off if society rejects it or certain uses of it (e.g., we don’t clone people just because we can), but the predictions never get into an interesting level of discussion. It’s impossible to read these sections, and not think “Well maybe, but you haven’t given me any reason to think your version is likely.” There’s just nothing here that rises above the level of mainstream sci-fi, and there’s none of the cutting skepticism and insights that Novella is known for.
The writing in this half doesn’t do the book any favours either. The punch from Novella’s blog is absent, with the book feeling over-smooth as if it was edited by committee and had all the chunky/interesting bits sandblasted off. It’s also peppered with references to sci-fi books and movies that will mean nothing to non-fans and are obvious to fans.
There are actual sci-fi shorts interspersed between some chapters, but I ended up skipping these after the first. They seemed present merely to occupy pages.
The second half is significantly better. It’s about future tech, and Novella actually applies some skepticism here and the writing seems much improved. I’m not sure if Novella found his groove here, or if he ejected one or both of the co-writers (which are much less prominently featured on the cover), but the whole book could’ve used whatever the case.
zippz's review
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
This book was so interesting. I loved every bit of it.
bootman's review
5.0
The Skeptic’s Guide to the Galaxy is one of my favorite books about how to be a skeptic. I’m not too much of a science and technology person, but I loved the last book so much that I wanted to see how this one was, and it’s fantastic. Steven, Bob and Jay are brothers, and they’ve been sci-fi fans since childhood, and they’ve loved all of the predictions about the future. Well, since they’re skeptics, they question where technology is going and what’s possible.
In this book, they cover all sorts of topics like time travel, when we’re getting hover cars, when we’ll teleport, where surgery and medicine is going and a ton of other topics. They break everything down and say where we’re at, how far we’ve come and what’s possible.
Despite not caring much about these topics, I loved this book. It helped me see what I should be skeptical about when you hear news reports or new startups with their ideas for the future. These guys do an excellent job breaking things down in layman’s terms, and I loved it.
In this book, they cover all sorts of topics like time travel, when we’re getting hover cars, when we’ll teleport, where surgery and medicine is going and a ton of other topics. They break everything down and say where we’re at, how far we’ve come and what’s possible.
Despite not caring much about these topics, I loved this book. It helped me see what I should be skeptical about when you hear news reports or new startups with their ideas for the future. These guys do an excellent job breaking things down in layman’s terms, and I loved it.
michaelgauchat's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
jkellyjr's review against another edition
4.0
I have listened to The Skeptics Guide to the Universe for many years--the better part of a decade so I was excited to get the audiobook version of their new book, [b:The Skeptics' Guide to the Future: What Yesterday's Science and Science Fiction Tell Us About the World of Tomorrow|60021453|The Skeptics' Guide to the Future What Yesterday's Science and Science Fiction Tell Us About the World of Tomorrow|Steven Novella|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1651649086l/60021453._SY75_.jpg|94617075].
Overall, I enjoyed the book. It was a bit textbookish at times but that may be symptomatic of covering the science-based topics they delve into. I did find it a good primer on future technologies and gained a much better understanding of how future people/society may have as significant an impact (if not bigger) on what and how technology is used/adopted than the tech itself.
If you are curious about what the future might hold, this is a good book for you. I also wholeheartedly recommend looking up and listening to the weekly podcast.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. It was a bit textbookish at times but that may be symptomatic of covering the science-based topics they delve into. I did find it a good primer on future technologies and gained a much better understanding of how future people/society may have as significant an impact (if not bigger) on what and how technology is used/adopted than the tech itself.
If you are curious about what the future might hold, this is a good book for you. I also wholeheartedly recommend looking up and listening to the weekly podcast.