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The Singularity Is Near : When Humans Transcend Biology -
by Ray KurzweilFrom Booklist
Continuing the themes of The Age of Spiritual Machines (1999), Kurzweil
further expounds his conviction that the human being will be succeeded by
a superintelligent entity that is partly biological, partly computerized.
Welcoming this prospect, and regarding it as inevitable, Kurzweil plunges
into contemporary technological arenas, particularly genetics,
nanotechnology, and robotics. Citing examples from medical devices to
military weapons in which human control is increasingly detached from the
autonomy of machines, Kurzweil stresses that trends are accelerating in
terms of miniaturization and computational power. Eventually, smallness
and speed reach a point of development, a "singularity," with implications
Kurzweil says even he cannot imagine. Disinclined to categorize his views
as dystopian or utopian, the author recognizes that his vision is
profoundly threatening to concepts of human nature and individuality. A
closing section on philosophy and ethics accordingly addresses objections
to his optimistic predictions. An involved presentation, this is best for
readers of the wide-angle, journalistic treatment Radical Evolution
(2005), by Joel Garreau.
Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
On Intelligence by Jeff Hawkins
From Publishers Weekly
Hawkins designed the technical innovations that make handheld computers
like the Palm Pilot ubiquitous. But he also has a lifelong passion for the
mysteries of the brain, and he's convinced that artificial intelligence
theorists are misguided in focusing on the limits of computational power
rather than on the nature of human thought. He "pops the hood" of the
neocortex and carefully articulates a theory of consciousness and
intelligence that offers radical options for future researchers. "[The
ability to make predictions about the future... is the crux of
intelligence," he argues. The predictions are based on accumulated
memories, and Hawkins suggests that humanoid robotics, the attempt to
build robots with humanlike bodies, will create machines that are more
expensive and impractical than machines reproducing genuinely human-level
processes such as complex-pattern analysis, which can be applied to speech
recognition, weather analysis and smart cars. Hawkins presents his ideas,
with help from New York Times science writer Blakeslee, in chatty,
easy-to-grasp language that still respects the brain's technical
complexity. He fully anticipates-even welcomes-the controversy he may
provoke within the scientific community and admits that he might be wrong,
even as he offers a checklist of potential discoveries that could prove
him right. His engaging speculations are sure to win fans of authors like
Steven Johnson and Daniel Dennett.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
All rights reserved
The Real Truth About Teens and Sex: by Sabrina Weill
From Publishers Weekly
Hooking up: two teenagers meeting at the mall, or having drunken sex at a
party shortly after meeting for the first time- Both, actually. And the
central activity at a "chicken party" couldn't be performed by anything
with a beak. Weill, former editor of Seventeen, seeks to demystify these
and other steamy topics in her third book on teens and sex. Writing for
parents and educators, Weill preaches communication and education as keys
to staving off unwanted pregnancies, health problems and other pitfalls of
becoming prematurely sexually active. Her advice is practical, but the
suggested dialogues she provides can come off as Pollyanna. ("I want you
to promise me you won't fool around with someone when either you or the
guy or the girl have been drinking.") Peppered with survey and sexual
health factoids-42 percent of 15-year-olds know someone who's had sex at
home while their parents were in the house, and 29 percent of 12 -
17-year-olds think that someone who does everything but have sex is not a
virgin-parents looking for insight into what goes on in their kids' beds
can find plenty of answers here, though some may be hesitant to take a
magazine editor's advice.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
All rights reserved.
The Shame of the Nation : The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in Americaby Jonathan Kozol
From Publishers Weekly
Public school resegregation is a "national horror hidden in plain view,"
writes former educator turned public education activist Kozol (Savage
Inequalities, Amazing Grace). Kozol visited 60 schools in 11 states over a
five-year period and finds, despite the promise of Brown v. Board of
Education, many schools serving black and Hispanic children are spiraling
backward to the pre-Brown era. These schools lack the basics: clean
classrooms, hallways and restrooms; up-to-date books in good condition;
and appropriate laboratory supplies. Teachers and administrators eschew
creative coursework for rote learning to meet testing and accountability
mandates, thereby "embracing a pedagogy of direct command and absolute
control" usually found in "penal institutions and drug rehabilitation
programs."
As always, Kozol presents sharp and poignant portraits of the indignities
vulnerable individuals endure. "You have all the things and we do not have
all the things," one eight-year-old Bronx boy wrote the author. In another
revealing exchange, a cynical high school student tells his classmate, a
young woman with college ambitions who was forced into hair braiding and
sewing classes, "You're ghetto-so you sew." Kozol discovers widespread
acceptance for the notion that "schools in ghettoized communities must
settle for a different set of academic and career goals" than schools
serving middle-and upper-class children. Kozol tempers this gloom with
hopeful interactions between energetic teachers and receptive children in
schools where all is not lost. But these "treasured places" don't hide the
fact, Kozol argues, that school segregation is still the rule for poor
minorities, or that Kozol, and the like-minded politicians, educators and
advocates he seeks out, believe a new civil rights movement will be
necessary to eradicate it.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
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