The Skeptics' Guide to the Future

What Yesterday's Science and Science Fiction Tell Us About the World of Tomorrow

By: Dr. Steven Novella, Bob Novella - contributor, Jay Novella - contributor

Narrated by: Dr. Steven Novella

From the bestselling authors and hosts of "The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe," a high-tech roadmap of the future in their beloved voice, cracking open the follies of futurists past and how technology will profoundly change our world, redefining what it means to be human.

Our predictions of the future are a wild fantasy, inextricably linked to our present hopes and fears, biases and ignorance. Whether they be the outlandish leaps predicted in the 1920s, like multi-purpose utility belts with climate control capabilities and planes the size of luxury cruise ships, or the forecasts of the ‘60s, which didn’t anticipate the sexual revolution or women’s liberation, the path to the present is littered with failed predictions and incorrect estimations. The best we can do is try to absorb the lessons from futurism's checkered past, perhaps learning to do a little better.

In THE SKEPTICS' GUIDE TO THE FUTURE, Steven Novella and his co-authors build upon the work of futurists of the past by examining what they got right, what they got wrong, and how they came to those conclusions. By exploring the pitfalls of each era, they give their own speculations about the distant future, transformed by unbelievable technology ranging from genetic manipulation to artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Applying their trademark skepticism, they carefully extrapolate upon each scientific development, leaving no stone unturned as they lay out a vision for the future.

©2022 Dr. Steven Novella (P)2022 Grand Central Publishing

Critical Thinking applied to futurism? Fantastic!

A fun and refreshing approach to possible futures with a critical eye and intellectual humility. A great example in applied critical thinking.

Great book and narration

I really enjoyed the Skeptic books and Dr Novella's other works. The Novellas are excellent writers and Dr Steven Novella is an engaging narrator. Impatiently waiting on more work to come out.

Full of facts

This is a good science book. But it did not translate well to the Audible.
It was full of facts, but quite simply not entertaining.
The interview at the end of the book is the type of format that could really enhance this book in the future.
Meanwhile, the book did bring back days of when I was in university in a 300 person room, listening to the professor discuss physics.

fantastic!

Such a great listen! The content is really interesting, the approach to the topic is very original, and you come away knowing a lot more about current and future technology.

love the science

I really like the podcast these guys do. this book is a bit like the podcast, but a deeper dive into the details.

they highlighted several things that I had hoped for the future to be unlikely, but sneak others that are much more plausible.

I really appreciate the work these guys put into skepticism. It's helped me form a better worldview.

Excellent

This is one of those must listen books for anyone who like’s technology and science!

Worth a second listen.

As realistic a look at the future as you're likely to find. A lot of sci-fi stuff simply isn't going to happen. but the stuff that will is beyond our imagination.

Excellent

This book is not, happily, just wild speculation about the future. It's more about the constraints on future tech, given what we know about physics etc, and what has gone wrong in the history of attempts to predict the future. It also has some wild speculation, which wasn't always my favourite part, but it is lightly sprinkled in.

I enjoyed the chapters on self-driving cars and AI less because no one knows the future constraints on them very well right now. These two felt more hand-wavy, but the chapters on space and energy sources are just wonderful.

The authors illustrate some possible futures with sci-fi vignettes. These work because they are short and well written.

Overall, it's just a very fun read. Definitely worth it.

Enlightening

Really makes you think! Loved it! Would recommend to anyone who likes science and technology.

Great read, good work rogues

I loved this book, great work of balancing skepticism and speculation, especially enjoyed discussions of the fallacies of futurism.