Upgrade Me: Our amazing journey to human 2.0

by Brian Clegg

Book Overview

In biological terms human beings haven't evolved in 100,000 years - but thanks to our amazing brains, we are able to upgrade ourselves to add capabilities that have taken other creatures millions of years to evolve. Thanks to this 'unnatural' evolution, we are already Human 2.0.In an effort to live longer, become more attractive to the opposite sex, be better able to defend ourselves, make the most of our brains, repair damaged bodies, we have transformed...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1717981666
• ISBN13: 9781717981660
• Release Date: November 2008
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 210 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

All technology is an attempt to transcend human nature, we may succeed in the end, for good

This is a very good read on why human enhancement has been good for us and why we should continue to enhance ourselves. Although the subtitle of the book is "Our Amazing Journey to Human 2.0," the first two-thirds of the book is a look back in history. It explains in detail the central point that all technology is an attempt to transcend human nature. We have been enhancing ourselves since the beginning - the first woven garment, for example, appeared as early as 25,000 B.C. From wearing eyeglasses to drinking coffee, once a new technology has proven to work and become affordable, we all love to embrace it and gradually take it for granted. The big difference today is emerging new technologies are not just providing add-ons and networking capabilities to the human body, but also approaching the threathold of modifying the core of human nature. So the rest of the book effectively addresses various concerns about changing ourselves. Will cognitive enhancement make us dumber somehow? No, the author points out that "When the slide rules were replaced by the calculators, everyone said the next generation won't understand math the same way - it didn't happen. When computers came along, many predicted that learning as we know it would collapse. It didn't." Will genetic tinkering lead to catastrophe? Not necessarily. In fact, commenting on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein story, Clegg said, "Biologically speaking, every one of us is a particular kind of monster - a mutant." (more details on blog www.2CoBe.com) The book ends with a healthy dose of realism: "It would be foolish to portray our ability to enhance ourselves as wholly positive." Risk is unavoidable, though it can be managed with our conscious efforts.