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Year Million: Science at the Far Edge of Knowledge | 
 enlarge | Creator: Damien Broderick
Publisher: Atlas & Co.
Category: Book
List Price: $40.00
Buy New: $26.40
You Save: $13.60 (34%)
New (2) Used (1) from $26.40
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 131735
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.2 x 5.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 1934633054
Dewey Decimal Number: 523
EAN: 9781934633052
ASIN: 1934633054
Publication Date: June 24, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
Leading and up-and-coming scientists and science writers cast their minds one million years into the future to imagine the fate of the human and/or extraterrestrial galaxy.
This volume of fifteen new, specially commissioned essays by notable journalists and scholars such as Rudy Rucker, Jim Holt, and Gregory Benford presents a series of speculations on the most radical but well-grounded ideas they can conceive, projecting the universe as it might be in the year 1,000,000 C.E. Their collective effort—first attempted by H. G. Wells in his 1893 essay "The Man of the Year Million"—is an exploration into a barely conceivable distant future, where the authors confront far-flung possibilities, at times bordering on philosophy of science. How would the galaxy look if it were redesigned for optimal energy use and maximized intelligence? What is a universe bereft of stars?
Contributors include Amara D. Angelica, Catherine Asaro, Gregory Benford, Robert Bradbury, Sean M. Carroll, Anne Corwin, Dougal Dixon, Robin Hanson, Steven B. Harris, Jim Holt, Lisa Kaltenegger, Wil McCarthy, Rudy Rucker, Pamela Sargent, and George Zebrowski.
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| Customer Reviews:
Year Million is an awesome read. August 24, 2008
This is a book from several leading scientists/mathematicians/speculators, that for an inquiring mind of what the future holds, will keep you reading deep into the night. It is a very optimistically rounded off point of view of what the world may/ or may not be in a million years from now. No where will you find nuclear extinction or, cataclysmic astroid deaths. This is a book of mere speculation of the human race surviving to the year million; but a very creative read. Their are 13 contributing authors, and each essay has a different take on what the future holds. I found the first half of the book to be a completely awesome read. And I skipped a couple chapters in the middle, but the end was pretty good; talking about how the universe's infinite expansion could be met by human kind's or intelligent life's willingness to survive past the death of our sun, and the forever cold universe: stretching out and slowing down its life functions. Many times throughout the book, there are few hard facts on how some things can be done, and much of it is left up to a science fiction take on things. But, then again we are talking about life 1 million years from now. This is a very intriguing read for anyone curious about what life could hold 999,900 years after our generation's bones are all buried and dried up.
 Fascinating Exercises for Your Mind August 4, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book stretches anyone's mind. No matter how much science fiction one has read, or futurist literature --there are new ideas contained within the pages of Year Million. Not all the writers are equal, some are better than others--but a few shine brilliantly. You can read and disagree, formulate your own ideas--or nod your head with the 'hmmm' moments when you agree. It is a fun book, I highly enjoyed it.
Highly Recommend! August 2, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
What an awesome awesome book! I haven't enjoyed a new book that can plausibly be construed as sci-fi for a while. The book is basically a collection of essays by a number of experts in their respective fields. The subjects range from the significance of prime numbers vs. humor, extending human life span, and very very very far off future. The overall claim is that we will basically become aliens with god like abilities (that is unless we do ourselves in first). There are a number of references at the end of the book that are worth looking up.
 Very disappointing July 25, 2008
6 out of 15 found this review helpful
I was very disappointed in this book. The concept is extremely interesting, but the execution was not. Most of the writers in the book tried to extrapolate what the Year 1 Million would be like by looking at current technology and projecting forward. The problem with that is we are talking about the year 1,000,000, not the year 2080. People were not thinking big enough.
Those who did think big often rehashed already-existing ideas about the far future. I believe 4 of the essays talked about Dyson spheres or some version of them. Not exactly that imaginative.
This concept could have worked (could still work) with better, more imaginative writers. I can only guess that the editor did not have enough contacts in the science fiction world, or did not try hard enough to get the best people for the book.
Thumbs down!
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