UID:
kobvindex_INT0000203
Format:
288 pages ;
,
24.5 x 16 cm.
ISBN:
9780465093472 (hbk.)
,
0465093477 (hbk.)
Content:
MACHINE-GENERATED SUMMARY NOTE: "That's the promise, and peril, of the third digital revolution, where anyone will be able to make (almost) anything. Two digital revolutions--computing and communication--have radically transformed our economy and lives. A third digital revolution is here: fabrication. Today's 3D printers are only the start of a trend, accelerating exponentially, to turn data into objects: Neil Gershenfeld and his collaborators ultimately aim to create a universal replicator straight out of Star Trek. While digital fabrication promises us self-sufficient cities and the ability to make (almost) anything, it could also lead to massive inequality. The first two digital revolutions caught most of the world flat-footed, thanks to Designing Reality that won't be true this time."
Content:
MACHINE-GENERATED SUMMARY NOTE: "The 20th century witnessed two digital revolutions. Computing power has revolutionized every industry, from finance to agriculture to pharmaceuticals. We've got computers at work and at home, in our pockets and our bags, on our wrists, and even embedded in the architecture of our houses. At the same time a revolution in digital communication unfolded, which has forever altered our lives-work, social, and private-by enabling a world in which we're never impossible to reach and have nearly limitless power to express ourselves. But no one saw the downsides of these: powerful computers threaten to displace human labor from a range of jobs, both blue and white collar, and, after an election in which the Internet played such a pivotal role in spreading disinformation-not to mention the simple problem of never being able to escape our jobs if our email goes with us everywhere-the possible pitfalls of free communication become clearer. And now, as Neil Gershenfeld, Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld, and Alan Gershenfeld make clear, we are in the early years of the third digital revolution: from computation and communication comes fabrication. Fabrication includes everything from 3D printing to laser cutters to machines that can assemble anything, including themselves, by precisely controlling the placement of individual atoms. We will soon be able to program matter the same way we can now program a computer. This may sound outlandish, but just as the smartphone is the logical conclusion of trends in computing that began in the 1960s, so is this fabrication technology of the future the extension of today's trends in manufacturing. Neil Gershenfeld, an MIT professor, is at the forefront of making it a reality, through his scientific work as well as his championing of Fab Labs, a sort of low-cost personal factory. In Designing Reality, he and his brothers Alan and Joel explore not just the promise but the perils of this revolution in fabrication. On one extreme, it promises self-sufficient cities, the end of work, and the ability for each of us to design and create anything we can imagine. On the other, it could lead to the concentration of wealth in very few hands. Neither guaranteeing utopia nor insisting that our worst nightmares are about to come true, the Gershenfelds are trying to anticipate the future and teach us how best to prepare for it, personally and as a society, across education, employment and more. The first two digital revolutions caught us flat-footed, and there has been a heavy price to pay. Let us prepare for the future, not simply react to it."
Note:
MACHINE-GENERATED CONTENTS NOTE: Introduction -- CHAPTER 1: HOW TO MAKE (ALMOST) ANYTHING -- Fabrication -- Education -- Application -- Implication -- Organization -- CHAPTER 2: HOW TO (ALMOST) MAKE ANYTHING -- Fab Access -- Fab Literacy -- Enabling Ecosystems -- Mitigating Risk -- Grand Challenges -- CHAPTER 3: THE SCIENCE -- From Moore's Law to Lass' Law -- Communication, Computation, Fabrication -- Four Billion Years of Digitization -- Intelligent Design -- CHAPTER 4: THE SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Moore's Law Versus Lass' Law -- Reactive Versus Proactive Social Science -- Rates of Change -- Ecosystems -- Propagate Versus Scale -- CHAPTER 5: THE ROADMAP -- Community Fabrication: 1 to 1,000 -- Personal Fabrication: 1,000 to 1,000,000 -- Universal Fabrication: 1,000,000 to 1,000,000,000 -- Ubiquitous Fabrication: 1,000,000,000 to 1,000,000,000,000 -- CHAPTER 6: THE OPPORTUNITY -- How to Envision (almost) Anything -- Predictive Transformation -- Assembling Assemblers and Pancake Breakfasts -- Conclusion -- Goals and Recommendations -- Epilogue -- Acknowledgements -- Resources -- Index.
Language:
English
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