Super You: How Technology is Revolutionizing What It Means to Be Human

Super You: How Technology is Revolutionizing What It Means to Be Human

by Andy Walker, Kay Svela Walker, Sean Carruthers
Released June 2016
Publisher(s): Que
ISBN: 9780133790696

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Book description

Rewind Your Biology and Live Like a 20-Year-Old! Edit Your Genes to Live Disease-Free! Find a Parking Space with Your Internet-Connected Brain!
Advances in longevity, genetics, nanotech, and robotics will make all this possible!

This is not science fiction. This is your future. Right now, pioneering scientists and technologists are transforming what it means to be human by overcoming biological limits that have existed since our ancestors swung out of the trees…and into the suburbs. With incredible inspiration and perseverance, these visionaries are solving deep problems of human health and longevity—and their progress is accelerating. Super You takes you inside their labs, companies, and minds…to show how you can reap the benefits of a stronger, longer, better, life. You’ll learn how to start hacking your life today, to become more super, every day. Discover what’s possible when yesterday’s human limits are gone!

  • Learn how evolution became obsolete—and why it’s time to start hacking yourself

  • Save your life with whirring “jet engine” hearts, printed organs, and other medical miracles

  • Rewire and turbo-boost your ape brain

  • Become a mega-mind by connecting your brain directly to the Internet to use Google’s synthetic neocortex

  • Become superhuman with cyborg technology

  • Design and mold your looks

  • Genetically engineer your baby to be a tennis star (and other true stories)

  • Prepare for the political and religious backlash against the future

  • Discover how scientists will make death obsolete by treating it like a curable disease—and how to live until they do


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    Table of contents

    1. About This E-Book
    2. Title Page
    3. Copyright Page
    4. Contents at a Glance
    5. Table of Contents
    6. Foreword
    7. About the Authors
    8. Dedication
    9. Acknowledgments
    10. We Want to Hear from You!
    11. Reader Services
    12. Introduction: The Confronting Nature of Becoming Super
    13. 1. The Emergence of (You) the Human Machine
      1. Thumbs Up to Opposable Thumbs
      2. Is Evolution Obsolete?
      3. Is Technology the New Evolution?
        1. How Logarithmic Improvements Will Change Your Life
      4. How the Technology Singularity Will Change Your Life
    14. 2. Baby Science: How to Conceive a Tennis Star and Other Procreative Miracles
      1. Baby Technologies
        1. Baby Food
      2. Ultrasound Technology
        1. 3D and 4D Ultrasound
        2. Smartphone-Based Ultrasound
      3. The Future of Ultrasound
        1. High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound
        2. Magneto-Acoustic Imaging
      4. Birth Control Technologies
        1. Types of Birth Control
      5. The Future of Birth Control
        1. Remote Control Birth Control
        2. Male Contraception
      6. Curing Mr. Happy
      7. Baby-Making Technologies
        1. The First Test Tube Baby
      8. The Future of Reproduction Technology
        1. Next Generation DNA Sequencing
      9. Baby-Saving Technologies
        1. Stem Cells from Cord Blood
        2. Genome Sequencing
      10. Nanotechnology for Babies
      11. 3D Printing To Save Babies
      12. Designer Babies
      13. Gender Selection
        1. Nature’s Method
        2. Amniocentesis
        3. The Ericsson Method
        4. Sperm Spinning
        5. Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis
      14. The Fertility Doctor, the Media, and the Vatican
      15. Genetically Engineered Babies
      16. Testing 1, 2, 3 ... Is Your Baby Genetically Healthy?
      17. Daddy, Mommy, and Your Extra Mommy
      18. Pregnant Men?
        1. The First “Pregnant Man”
        2. The Future of Male Pregnancy
        3. Lab-Grown Vaginas
      19. From Birth to Forever
    15. 3. Beauty Hacks: Becoming Barbie, a Lizard, or Whatever You Want to Be
      1. Cosmetic Surgery Trends in America
      2. Lizardman
      3. Extreme Cosmetic Hall of Fame
        1. Valeria Lukyanova—“Real Life Barbie”
        2. Justin Jedlica—“The Human Ken Doll”
        3. Maria Jose Cristerna—“Vampire Mom”
        4. Patricia Krentcil—“Tanning Mom”
        5. Lacey Wildd—Largest Breasts
        6. ORLAN—Performance Artist
      4. Cosmetic Enhancements, Non-Weird Edition
        1. Cosmeceuticals
        2. Needle-Free Botox
        3. Guyliner: Makeup for Men?
      5. Electro Cosmetics
      6. Cosmetic Stickers
      7. Tattoos
        1. Tattoos Today
        2. Freedom-2-Ink
        3. LED Tattoos
        4. Gadget-Activated Tattoos
      8. Hair
        1. Hair Removal
        2. Hair Loss
      9. Weight Loss
        1. Soylent
        2. Weight-Loss Surgery
        3. Gastric Bypass
        4. Sleeve Gastrectomy
      10. The Future of Thin
        1. Zerona Laser
        2. Liposonix
      11. Cosmetic Surgery: A History
      12. Cosmetic Surgery Today
        1. Nose Job
        2. Liposuction
        3. Eyelid Surgery
        4. Tummy Tuck
        5. Facelift
        6. Dermabrasion
        7. Cosmetic Dentistry
        8. Vaginoplasty
        9. Breast Surgery
        10. Breast Augmentation
        11. Bigger Boobs ... Today
        12. Fat Transfer Breast Augmentation
        13. Ideal Implants
      13. Sex Reassignment
      14. Weird and Wonderful Cosmetic Surgery
        1. Palm Alterations
        2. Double Eyelid Surgery
        3. Iris Surgery
        4. Foot Surgery
        5. Limb Lengthening
      15. The Future of Beauty
    16. 4. Lifesaving Hacks: Whirring Hearts, Printed Organs, and Miraculous Medicine
      1. A Brief History of Medicine
      2. There’s a Future in Plastics
      3. Taking a Peek Inside
      4. Have a Heart—Pacemakers, Transplants, and Artificial Hearts
      5. Who Needs a Pulse, Anyway?
      6. It’s Now, and It’s New: The Future Frontiers of Medicine
        1. Nano, Nano
      7. I Sing the Body Electronic!
      8. Up Close and Personal with Your Genome
      9. DIY Body Parts
      10. Stop the Bleeding
      11. A Sensor of Wonder
      12. Hi, I’m Your Robot Doctor ... Wait! Come back!
      13. DIY Health
    17. 5. The Human Computer: How to Rewire and Turbo-Boost Your Ape Brain
      1. A Brief Early History of the Brain
      2. Your Brain Is Plastic? What?
      3. Do it Yourself (DIY) Brain Technology
        1. Go Learn Something
      4. Meditate on This
      5. Brain Fixers
        1. Brain-Zapping Fixes
      6. Deep Brain Stimulation
      7. Brain Drugs
        1. No New Brain Cells: Myth Busted
      8. Brain Enhancers
      9. Over-the-Counter Drugs to Improve Brain Plasticity
      10. This Is Your Brain on Video Games
      11. More Super Cool Brain Projects
        1. Brain-Controlled Exoskeleton
        2. OpenWorm Project
        3. Human Brains in Bots
        4. Brain-to-Brain Communication
        5. Human-to-Human Brain Communication
      12. Unsolved Mysteries of the Brain
        1. What Is Consciousness?
        2. Why Do We Sleep?
        3. Do We Have Free Will?
        4. How Are Memories Processed?
      13. Is that It?
      14. The Future
        1. Expanding Human Intelligence
        2. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
      15. Will the Machines Rise Up?
        1. ... And What About Conscious Robots? “GULP”
      16. Super Us? Here Come Virtual Helpers Armed with Strong AI
    18. 6. Franken-You: A Better Life Through Cyborg Technology
      1. Are you a Cyborg? Or just Bionic?
      2. What the Heck Is Cybernetics?
        1. Mostly Evil Killing Machines?
        2. This Cyborg Life
      3. Let’s Start with Bionics
      4. I Technology
      5. I See U
      6. I Am the Very Model of a Modern Cybernetic Man
      7. Super Senses
        1. Mr. Cyborg: Steve Mann
        2. Neil Harbisson: The Man Who Can Hear Red
        3. Jens Naumann: Now You See Me, Now You Don’t
        4. Michael Chorost and the 100-Acre Wood
        5. Rob Spence: Life Imitates Art
      8. Super Strength
        1. Amanda Boxtel: Exoskeleton Pioneer
      9. Super Powers
        1. Jerry Jalava: To USB or Not to USB
        2. Amal Graafstra: Open Sesame
        3. Kevin Warwick: Wife-Fi Connector
        4. Pranav Mistry: Cruise Control
      10. Super Body: Wearables for Amputees
        1. Jesse Sullivan: Resume Hugging
        2. Nigel Ackland: Give this Guy a Hand
      11. DIY Bio-Hacking
        1. Gabriel Licina: Cat’s Eyes
      12. The Grinder Movement: DIY Surgery
      13. The Future of Cyborg?
    19. 7. In Hacks We Trust? The Political and Religious Backlash Against the Future
      1. The Future Is ... Now?
      2. Body Modification
        1. Judaism
        2. Christianity
        3. Islam
        4. Hinduism
      3. Genetic Engineering
      4. Cloning
      5. Stem Cell Research and Genetic Therapy
        1. Political Views on Stem Cell Research
        2. Religious Views on Stem Cell Research
      6. Emerging Technologies
    20. 8. Hyper Longevity: How to Make Death Obsolete
      1. The History of Aging
        1. The Methuselah Award Goes to ...
      2. What We Know About Super Agers
      3. Longevity Research Is Still Young
      4. Lifestyle Secrets: Live Long and Prosper
      5. Centenarian Studies
        1. The Blue Zones
        2. Power 9: The Nine Lifestyle Choices that Promote Longer Life Spans
        3. The New England Centenarian Study
      6. The Longevity Genes Project
      7. Strategies for a Longer Life
        1. Calorie Restriction
        2. Red Wine and Resveratrol
      8. Current Bodies of Research in Longevity
        1. Sirtuin Studies
        2. Amazing mTOR
        3. Insulin Signaling (Long Live the Worms)
        4. AMPK, the Cellular Housekeeper
      9. Living Forever: The Research of Dr. Aubrey de Grey
      10. Cryonics: Freeze Me When I Die So I Can Live Forever
      11. Reports of Your Death Are Greatly Exaggerated
      12. Extendgame, Not the Endgame
    21. 9. Human 2.0: The Future Is You
      1. Look Like Who You Want to Be and Be Who You Want to Be
      2. Customize Your Children So They Live a Life Free of Disease
      3. Live Your Life Disease Free
      4. Be Superhuman
      5. Live Forever, If You Choose
      6. Robots Replacing Jobs—Less Work and More Fun
        1. Stage 1: The Bots You Know
        2. Stage 2: The Bots Are Coming
        3. Stage 3: Smarter, Strategic Bots
        4. Stage 4: Here Come the Lawyer Bots, et al
      7. Restructured Society, Economy and Political System
      8. A Final Word
    22. Index

    Product information

    • Title: Super You: How Technology is Revolutionizing What It Means to Be Human
    • Author(s): Andy Walker, Kay Svela Walker, Sean Carruthers
    • Release date: June 2016
    • Publisher(s): Que
    • ISBN: 9780133790696