Author(s): John Brockman

Non-Fiction

Drawing from the horizons of science, today's leading thinkers reveal the hidden threats nobody is talking about-and expose the false fears everyone else is distracted by. What should we be worried about? That is the question John Brockman, publisher of Edge.org ("The world's smartest website"-The Guardian), posed to the planet's most influential minds. He asked them to disclose something that, for scientific reasons, worries them-particularly scenarios that aren't on the popular radar yet. Encompassing neuroscience, economics, philosophy, physics, psychology, biology, and more-here are 150 ideas that will revolutionize your understanding of the world. Steven Pinker uncovers the real risk factors for war * Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi peers into the coming virtual abyss * Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek laments our squandered opportunities to prevent global catastrophe * Seth Lloyd calculates the threat of a financial black hole * Alison Gopnik on the loss of childhood * Nassim Nicholas Taleb explains why firefighters understand risk far better than economic "experts" * Matt Ridley on the alarming re-emergence of superstition * Daniel C. Dennett and george dyson ponder the impact of a major breakdown of the Internet * Jennifer Jacquet fears human-induced damage to the planet due to "the Anthropocebo Effect" * Douglas Rushkoff fears humanity is losing its soul * Nicholas Carr on the "patience deficit" * Tim O'Reilly foresees a coming new Dark Age * Scott Atran on the homogenization of human experience * Sherry Turkle explores what's lost when kids are constantly connected * Kevin Kelly outlines the looming "underpopulation bomb" * Helen Fisher on the fate of men * Lawrence Krauss dreads what we don't know about the universe * Susan Blackmore on the loss of manual skills * Kate Jeffery on the death of death * plus J. Craig Venter, Daniel Goleman, Virginia Heffernan, Sam Harris, Brian Eno, Martin Rees, and more

AS reviewed by Peter in our February newsletter...

Haven't we already got enough to worry about? Yes, that thought crossed my mind when I openned this book. However it isn't like that. It actually provides a lot of food for thought.

This book is the result of “The Edge” (http://www.edge.org) annual question for 2013. The submitted results are from scientists, journalists and thinkers from all over the world. Their submissions are no more than 3-4 pages long and there are hundreds of them. Each with a very lateral view of things that might be wrong with the world.

Some of them are quite minor, others quite surprising. For example, we are attuned to think that over population is a looming problem for the world, when actually the world population is forecast to peak in about 2050. Urbanised populations do not have enough children to replace themselves and eventually a rapidly urbanising world will decrease in population. The problem then becomes that who will do the work to maintain the standard of living of an aging population. Another contibutor worries that we will not develop the intelligent robots quickly enough to do the work required.

This is a thought provoking book, made up of many contributions. It's a bit much to read in one sitting but you can pick it up from time to time, read another chapter to give you something to think about.