Unnatural SelectionUnnatural Selection
Why the Geeks Will Inherit the Earth
Title rated 4.3 out of 5 stars, based on 3 ratings(3 ratings)
Book, 2014
Current format, Book, 2014, First North American edition., Available .Book, 2014
Current format, Book, 2014, First North American edition., Available . Offered in 0 more formatsUnnatural Selection is the first book to examine the rise of the "technocentric being"--or geek--who personifies a distinct new phase in human evolution. People considered geeks often have behavioral or genetic traits that were previously considered detrimental. But the new environment of the Anthropocene period--the Age of Man--has created a kind of digital greenhouse that actually favors their traits, enabling many non-neurotypical people to bloom. They resonate with the technological Zeitgeist in a way that turns their weaknesses into strengths. Think of Mark Zuckerberg versus the towering, Olympics-bound Winklevoss twins in the movie Social Network.
Roeder suggests that the rise of the geek is not so much the product of Darwinian "natural selection" as of man-made--or unnatural--selection. He explains why geeks have become so phenomenally successful in such a short time and why the process will further accelerate, driven by breakthroughs in genetic engineering, neuropharmacology, and artificial intelligence. His book offers a fascinating synthesis of the latest trends in these fields and predicts a twenty-first century "cognitive arms race" in which new technology will enable everyone to become more intelligent and "geek-like."
Roeder suggests that the rise of the geek is not so much the product of Darwinian "natural selection" as of man-made--or unnatural--selection. He explains why geeks have become so phenomenally successful in such a short time and why the process will further accelerate, driven by breakthroughs in genetic engineering, neuropharmacology, and artificial intelligence. His book offers a fascinating synthesis of the latest trends in these fields and predicts a twenty-first century "cognitive arms race" in which new technology will enable everyone to become more intelligent and "geek-like."
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- New York : Arcade Publishing, ©2014.
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