popdetective's review against another edition
2.0
The core problem with Kurzweil is that he seems to have no analysis of power or oppression whatsoever. He inhabits a happy-go-lucky futurist utopia filled with wondrous technological toys and gives no thought to how any of the technology could be used oppress, dominate or control. I basically spent the entire book imagining all the horrible things governments and corporations would do (and perhaps will do) with all the fantastic technology Kurzweil describes.
iflista's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting journey into mind of great inventor and futurist. Interestingly he foreseen an exponential growth of technologies when there were not many signs of it few decades ago. Tech he poorly described then but it was still fascinating are our reality nowadays. Great book, looking forward to read next two his books Singularity is Near and then How to Create a Mind. Should be very interesting journey.
lowercasepoet's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
jmhobbs's review against another edition
3.0
Entertaining read, had lots of clever bits. Fun to read the predictions from the 90's of what today is like (hint, he got it mostly wrong :)
itsthathikingreader's review against another edition
3.0
I liked quite some parts of this book. The introduction to quantum mechanics was very welcome: now I can at least say I know ALMOST nothing instead of completely nothing about it. I also liked reading Kurzweil's visions of the future - those interest me anyway, from whatever mind they originate. His predictions for 2009 (written in 1999) were sometimes uncannily accurate, sometimes completely off. For 2019, I think he overestimated the progress of technology. I don't think we'll meet his image within a time frame of 2,5-3 years, but reading it was interesting anyway. He scored points for including subjects such as politics and arts.
Kurzweil's almost Platonian mono/dialogue with Molly proved interesting. It gave an extra dimension to the book which could've been used for extensive critical reflection. I think not all of the potential of the conversation was used, though. Too bad. Thumbs up, anyway.
... And now, something about which I could rant for a long time, but I won't:
[bitch mode on] WHAT'S UP WITH THE EPILOGUE? Aliens, really? All of a sudden, there's room for the rest of the Universe and contemplating the existence of aliens? In a book about the future of humanity and technology on Earth? Please, don't do that ever again, mr. Kurzweil. It made for a very unsatisfying ending. Just write a seperate book about it if the subject interests you, thank you. [/bitch mode off]
Kurzweil's almost Platonian mono/dialogue with Molly proved interesting. It gave an extra dimension to the book which could've been used for extensive critical reflection. I think not all of the potential of the conversation was used, though. Too bad. Thumbs up, anyway.
... And now, something about which I could rant for a long time, but I won't:
[bitch mode on] WHAT'S UP WITH THE EPILOGUE? Aliens, really? All of a sudden, there's room for the rest of the Universe and contemplating the existence of aliens? In a book about the future of humanity and technology on Earth? Please, don't do that ever again, mr. Kurzweil. It made for a very unsatisfying ending. Just write a seperate book about it if the subject interests you, thank you. [/bitch mode off]
ninj's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting look at future trends and technology, though the timelines themselves - read now from a position 18 years after the book was written - aren't terribly accurate.
tlockney's review against another edition
4.0
It had me thinking about this subject for a long while after reading the book.