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The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology

The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend BiologyAuthor: Ray Kurzweil
Publisher: Viking Adult

List Price: $29.95
Buy Used: $7.28
as of 11/25/2009 05:59 CST details
You Save: $22.67 (76%)



New (14) Used (36) Collectible (4) from $7.28

Seller: betterworldbooks_
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars 147 reviews
Sales Rank: 114400

Media: Hardcover
Pages: 672
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.1
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.5 x 2.2

ISBN: 0670033847
Dewey Decimal Number: 153.9
EAN: 9780670033843
ASIN: 0670033847

Publication Date: September 22, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Also Available In:

  • Paperback - The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology
  • Kindle Edition - The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
The great inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil is one of the best-known and most controversial advocates for the role of machines in the future of humanity. In his latest book, he envisions an event—the "singularity"—in which technological change becomes so rapid and so profound that our bodies and brains will merge with our machines.

The Singularity Is Near portrays what life will be like after this event— a human- machine civilization where our experiences shift from real reality to virtual reality and where our intelligence becomes nonbiological and trillions of times more powerful. In practical terms, this means that human aging and pollution will be reversed; world hunger will be solved; our bodies and environment transformed by nanotechnology to overcome the limitations of biology, including death; and virtually any physical product can be created from information alone. The Singularity Is Near also considers the social and philosophical ramifications of these changes, and is certain to be one of the most widely discussed and provocative books of 2005.


Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 147
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3 out of 5 stars A logical argument for the end of the age   October 20, 2009
VFTW (Middle East)
Kurzweil states: "our technology will match and then vastly
exceed the refinement and suppleness of what we regard as the best of human traits"...but what about the worst of human traits? Richard Swenson also argues that technology is going to exponentially change our world, but not just for good, but also for ill...read "Hurtling Toward Oblivion" for another perspective: [...]



5 out of 5 stars SingularitySymposium.com review: The Singularitarian Bible   September 30, 2009
Nikola Danaylov (Toronto, On, Canada)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

It is probably not farfetched to say that "The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology" is the Singularitarian Bible. It is the one book that anyone interested (together with everyone not interested) in the Technological Singularity must read. No subject, field or issue is too big to fit within this book's subject matter. It examines the cutting edge research in and the implications thereof physics, mathematics, chemistry, medicine, computer science, biotechnology and genetics, artificial intelligence and robotics, nanotechnology and molecular manufacturing, nuclear physics and quantum theory, evolutionary theory and sociology, astronomy and cosmology, economics, politics and philosophy.

This book is meticulously researched and contains over 100 pages of scientific notes and references. It also contains a whole chapter of criticisms which are addressed in detail by Ray Kurzweil. If it does have a weakness it has to be the fact that it is so conceptually and theoretically advanced, so breathtakingly far-sighted and so exhaustively precise in its most minute cutting-edge scientific detail that readers may find it at times hard to follow. (I know I did) At the same time the book is undoubtedly successful at communicating "the singularity is near" message to a broad non-scientific readership.




4 out of 5 stars The future is bearign down on us.   September 18, 2009
James C. Schuyler (Baltimore, MD.)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Mr. Kurzweil has a dramatic view of the near future that makes most science fiction look timid. He takes 500 pages to carefully document how genetic, nano, and robot technologies will soon lead us to first, biological immortality, and then to the creation of a digital super-intelligence that will eventually expand throughout the visible Universe. Kurzweil builds the case that the Integration of human minds with the digital mind (The Singularity) will be possible by 2045.

At first blush, the thesis of this book appears far-fetched and the time-line absurd. Mr Kurzweil, arguably one of the greatest intellects of our time, carefully builds a complete defense of his predictions and responds to criticisms. This is required reading for anyone who wants to think seriously about the future of mankind and the planet.



5 out of 5 stars Great service   September 15, 2009
Benedict Ciantar (Australia)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Quick service. Product packed well and arrived quickly. Would certainly buy from this seller again.


4 out of 5 stars Entertaining   September 3, 2009
S. D. Sawyer (United States)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

This is a fun read. Kurzweil's enthusiasm and optimism for the future is evident in the prose. I'm not sure how grounded he is, but he seems to be making an attempt to be an informed and researched dreamer. Its fun, read it, then go to work and feed your family.

Showing reviews 1-5 of 147
1 2 3 4 5 6 ...30Next »





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