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The authors of Soonish are Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith.

Technology & the Future

Soonish Book Summary - Soonish Book explained in key points

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Soonish summary

Name: Soonish
Rating: 4.4 (36 reviews)
Author: Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith

Kelly Weinersmith Zach Weinersmith

Ten Emerging Technologies That’ll Improve and/or Ruin Everything

4.4 (36 ratings)

22 mins

Brief summary

'Soonish' by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith explores the tantalizing technology on the horizon and the potential problems and benefits they have for society. The book offers an insightful and humorous look into the future of science, from robot swarms to virtual reality.

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Human-Machine Interaction

Table of Contents

Soonish
Summary of 9 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 9

What’s in it for me? Find out what the future will look like by checking in with today’s cutting-edge technologies.

We may not yet have those flying cars that so many sci-fi movies over the years have predicted, but we’ve still made some pretty astounding technological breakthroughs in recent years. Since our attention is often grabbed by other headlines, it’s likely that you don’t even know where we’re at when it comes to things like bioprinting, spaceplanes and microscopic robots.

So, let Kelly and Zach Weinersmith bring you up to date on the latest developments and fill you in on when you can expect to 3D print your own custom-made home on the cheap. The answer is, probably, “soonish” – as in, not today, not tomorrow, but soonish.

In these blinks, you’ll discover

the difference between fission and fusion power;
why a bucket of stuff is both incredible and terrifying; and
why Pokémon Go is only a small step toward the incredible virtual world to come.

Developments in space exploration are hindered by the cost of getting to space.

Given that the first moon landing happened way back in 1969, you may feel disappointed that so little progress has since been made when it comes to getting humans further into space.

But the reality is, building rockets and launching them into space is an expensive business, which is why scientists are looking into cheaper methods of space exploration.

One such method is sort of like using a really big elevator. Imagine a giant cable stretching from a mobile sea platform on Earth all the way to a giant asteroid in orbit. It could be used to send cargo, passengers and spacecraft back and forth, eliminating the need for all that expensive and explosive rocket fuel.

Sounds good, right? However, there is currently no material that is both strong enough and light enough to make a space elevator a reality – though scientists are still eagerly looking into this idea.

Another potentially less expensive method is the spaceplane.

Spaceplanes would use two different kinds of engines. The first would use a combination of air and fuel to create a high-pressure force powerful enough to propel the plane out of the Earth’s atmosphere. Then, because there isn’t any air in space, the spaceplane would need to switch to a more traditional rocket engine that uses normal propellant. This would be cheaper than the current method where the rocket has to carry enough expensive oxidizer to power the rocket engine all the way into space.

Another important part of making space travel affordable could be asteroid mining. This has the potential to provide cheap materials that could be sent back to Earth, or used for building the settlements on other planets.

The US-based company Tethers Unlimited has already proposed a system for capturing asteroids. It essentially works like a space net, and they’ve called it “the Wrangler.”

It would allow us to trap an asteroid in a net, and then to use that asteroid as a base of operations for a settlement. We could also theoretically drag it elsewhere to create colonies in space or to mine its resources; from what we already know about the main types of asteroids, water, metal and oxygen can be extracted from them.

Fusion power has been a tough nut to crack, but this might change in the near future.

There’s an important difference between nuclear fission and fusion. Fission refers to the energy produced when atoms split apart, while fusion captures the energy produced by atoms fusing together.

So far, our attempts at harnessing fusion power have been inefficient and largely unsuccessful, though scientists are still hard at work trying to find a solution. There’s still much hope that fusion power will be a reliable and clean source of energy in the future.

Programmable matter has applications in areas like medicine and construction.

Imagine living in a house that could change its structure depending on the weather. It might sound like pure fantasy, but such programmable matter that can change its physical properties based on its programming is actually already being worked on.

As you can likely imagine, programmable matter has the potential to be a huge asset for humankind, and not just in building materials.

New technologies have paved the way for buildings constructed by robots.

Robots have been producing things for us for some time now, but there’s one area that they’ve yet to infiltrate: houses. This is because houses are big, complicated structures with lots of different elements and possible locations to consider, and robots are better suited for precisely-controlled factory conditions.

However, these obstacles may soon be a thing of the past.

In the future, augmented reality will increase our efficiency, but it also poses a number of concerns.

Imagine walking through an actual forest with a virtual guide a few steps ahead of you, giving you the details of each type of tree you walk past. This is the kind of future that augmented reality or AR, will provide. Unlike virtual reality, which places you in a virtual world, AR adds layers of virtual elements onto the real world around you.

One of the benefits AR technology could provide is efficiency.

Synthetic Biology could change life as we know it.

In 2015 alone, malaria killed over half a million people, and efforts to eradicate the disease have remained unsuccessful. But there is hope that the growing field of synthetic biology, or advanced DNA manipulation, could finally give us the tools we need.

Scientists can manipulate the DNA of mosquitoes with a gene that is resistant to malaria. Introduced into the larger population, it is believed this gene could quickly spread and wipe out the disease in any particular region. While this might sound like a miracle that should happen as soon as possible, scientists want to conduct more tests before releasing a synthetically engineered organism into the wild.

In the future, precision medicine can provide an immediate, accurate medical diagnosis and prescribe treatment.

Despite the great progress made in modern medicine, thousands of patients still get misdiagnosed every day. In the future, however, we might be able to employ something known as precision medicine.

In a world of precision medicine, you could walk into a clinic and get an instant diagnosis and prescription of the best possible treatment. The key to this system would be biomarkers or biological indicators that would immediately detect any unwanted molecules entering your bloodstream, cancerous growths or even symptoms relating to depression.

Scientists are developing the technology to create human organs with a 3D printer.

While the previously-discussed 3D printing of houses is undoubtedly impressive, you might be wondering how far this technology can really go. Well, one of its potential applications may offer some good news for the 8,000 people who wait in vain for an organ transplant every year: bioprinting.

Bioprinting aims to let us print the organs that these people need. But, as you may expect, it’s an extremely complex procedure.

While still far from upgrading the human brain, scientists have made remarkable strides with brain-computer interfaces.

In sci-fi movies, we’ve seen characters plug things into their brain in order to quickly download life-saving information. However, the more we learn about the brain, the less likely it seems that we’ll ever be able to hook ourselves up to a thumb drive for a cranial download of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

So instead, what scientists are focusing on these days is how to use brain-computer interfaces to fix problems, such as blindness and paralysis, rather than enhance abilities.

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What is Soonish about?

Soonish (2017) explores transformative technologies that will emerge in the future, from space exploration to brain-to-computer interfaces, and the ongoing real-world efforts undertaken to make them a reality today. For each technology explored, Kelly and Zach Weinersmith consider its current status, the primary concerns and the effect each technology is likely to have on the world as we know it.

Soonish Review

Soonish (2017) by Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith takes readers on an enlightening journey into the future, exploring the scientific advancements that will shape our lives. Here's why this book is worth reading:

Offers fascinating insights into cutting-edge technologies, from space colonization to genetic engineering, drawing readers into a world of possibilities.
Examines scientific concepts with humor and wit, making complex topics accessible and captivating.
Explores the ethical dilemmas and social implications of future technologies, prompting thought-provoking discussions and raising important questions.

Best quote from Soonish

Youre probably better off having robots build your Martian homes radiation shield than doing it yourself.

—Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith

Who should read Soonish?

Students of science and technology
Science-fiction enthusiasts
Readers curious about theoretical science

About the Author

Dr. Kelly Weinersmith works in the BioSciences department at Rice University, and is the cohost of Science . . . Sort Of, a top-rated science podcast. Her research has been featured in the Atlantic, National Geographic and BBC World.

Zach Weinersmith is the creator of the popular webcomic, Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. His work has also been featured in a variety of publications, including the Economist, the Wall Street Journal, Slate and Forbes.

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