
Future Perfect
What next? and other impossible questions
Robyn Williams(Author)
Allen & Unwin (Publisher)
Published on 1. August 2007
Book
Paperback/Softback
180 pages
978-1-74175-318-9 (ISBN)
Description
Thinking about the future is not a normal human activity.Since we first came down out of the trees, most of our waking hours have been preoccupied with staying alive - life expectancy was so short, it was hard to seriously plan ahead. The religions we concocted taught us that the future was in the hands of our gods and we should concentrate mainly on the afterlife.Future Perfect is a book for those who believe we can shape the future of our earth, and that there is a moral responsibility for us to do just that. It's difficult to disembark once you're here, after all. Written in Robyn Williams' characteristically whimsical and provocative style, it conjures up the possibilities before us in our cities, our employment, our transport and even our sex lives. It confronts the challenges before us and does not shrink from the hard answers.Witty and immensely entertaining, informative and didactic, Future Perfect will fuel many an argument.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Sydney
Australia
Dimensions
Height: 195 mm
Width: 130 mm
Weight
176 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-74175-318-9 (9781741753189)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
08/2007
Allen & Unwin
€19.49
Available for download
Person
Robyn Williams has presented science programs on ABC radio and television since 1972. Early in his career he made guest appearances in The Goodies, Monty Python's Flying Circus and Dr Who. He is the first journalist to be elected a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, was a visiting fellow at Balliol College, Oxford, and is a visiting professor at the University of New South Wales. In March 2006, a star in the constellation Carina was named after him.
Content
Introduction 11 The Future of Communication - Beyond Babel? 92 The Future of Science - The White Trash of the Pacific? 333 The Future of God - God's Only Excuse 534 The Future of Transport - 2027: Full Speed Ahead 775 The Future of Cities - More Than Half the World's Population? 956 The Future of Sex - And Why We Do It 1117 The Future of Innovation - Inventing the Future? 1318 The Future of Work - Failing Upwards 1399 The Future of Us - Our Last Century? 151Postscript 167Further reading 169