Who Gives a Gigabyte?

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Who Gives a Gigabyte?
by: Gary Stix, Miriam Lacob



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Editorial Review:

Amazon.com:
This book is dedicated to the proposition that almost anyone can acquire a basic understanding of today's technological marvels--and that, perhaps, everyone ought to. Consistently understandable (but thankfully more sober than its somewhat dippy title suggests), Who Gives a Gigabyte? offers a brisk, guided tour of the high technologies currently having, or soon to have, the greatest impact on our lives and society. These include computing and telecommunications, genetic engineering, molecular medicine, bioengineering, lasers, smart materials, alternative fuels, and green technology. If you don't know what some of these are, don't worry. Stix and Lacob leave no technical jargon undefined, and their explanations of the workings of fin-de-millennium gadgetry--microchips, compact discs, electric cars, cloned sheep--are thorough and lucid.

But just as important as the technical details are the social, political, and economic issues surrounding them, and these, too, get a clear and comprehensive airing out. In an increasingly technological world, they explain, "technological literacy ... enables us to be better citizens," helping us make informed social decisions that would otherwise be left to scientists, business leaders, and bureaucrats. Stix and Lacob don't belabor the point, though. What they promise is the essentials of a contemporary technological education, and that, no more or less, is what they deliver. --Julian Dibbell

Product Description:
An exhilarating chronicle of the most revolutionary advancements in recent-and future-technology

Which new technologies are bound to have the biggest impact on our lives in the years ahead? This groundbreaking book looks at the latest technological superstars destined to reshape the upcoming century and offers easy-to-understand, engaging explanations of what they are, how they work, and how they will affect our lives. Written by a senior editor of Scientific American, the world's premier science magazine, and based on in-depth interviews with today's leading innovators as well as extensive research of the latest scientific literature, Who Gives a Gigabyte? takes you on a fast-paced tour into the brave new world of gene therapy, quantum computation, designer drugs, and recyclable cars.

Surveying the wide range of technological wonders, the authors investigate such diverse realms of scientific advancement as computing, telecommunications, laser beams, bioengineering materials, and alternative energy sources. From the Human Genome Project, which aims to spell out every letter of our genetic inheritance, to the implications of altering genes in important agricultural projects, to new strategies for attacking malignant cancer cells without the damaging side effects of traditional treatments, to the startling but still unsuccessful attempts to make computer software more like the human mind, Who Gives a Gigabyte? demystifies the technology of today and provides an enlightening glimpse into the limitless possibilities of tomorrow.

"An enjoyable and rewarding book."-Choice

"An informative overview of new and emerging technologies."-Booklist

"The reward for the reader is a solid grounding in technological literacy."-Scientific American