The Future of the Mind

Hello, hello, hello, and welcome! Ok, settle down, you yahoos.

Before we hop into today’s review of Michio Kaku’s new book, The Future of the Mind, I want to let you guys know that next month I’ll be opening up the One Lazy Robot Blog space to… you.

Yes, you read that correctly. For those of you wily bloggers out there interested in trying your hand at this, I’m going to be accepting some guest posts. Think you’ve got what it takes to woman the controls of the One Lazy Robot? Well, give it a shot. Write up a blog post, length is optional, though I’d try and keep it under 3,000 words. As for topics, you know, let the winds of destiny carry you where they may.

Want to write about robots in sci-fi? Word.

Want to write about the best book you’ve read this week, month, year? Double word.

Want to write about unicorns and how they’re better than minotaurs? Triple word.

You do you.

Seriously, the sky’s the limit, so put on those creativity helmets and get to work. I’ll be accepting submission’s until the end of April, so you’ve got a few weeks to get something down.

Now, quick obligatory disclaimer that should go without saying, don’t write anything overtly hateful. If you do, just remember that I retain the right not to publish whatever it is you decide to submit.

Alright, enough of that, now let’s chat about Michio Kaku’s new book, The Future of the Mind.

Kaku is hands down my favorite theoretical physicists, which, really, isn’t all that impressive, but it’s something. Who else is on my top 3 list? Funny you should ask…

Yeah, you’re number one, stop showing off.

Keep it up Kaku, Hawking’s right on your tail

Bazinga!

But no, really, I hate the Big Bang Theory. OR do I? Dun dun dun… I’m mysterious!

He’s most well-known for his work on super-string theory and his litany of books that makes physics (and science in general) accessible to the masses.

He’s written a bunch of other books ranging from the Physics of the Future, Physics of the Impossible, and Hyperdrive, just to name a few. I’ve read them all and more or less enjoy all of them equally.

400 Horse Power of VROOM!

The Future of the Mind tills some interesting soil for me.The brain is extraordinarily complex. The technologies developed to study it, and harness its powers, are no less humbling. Kaku takes us on a tour-de-force of possibilities where cognitive science is concerned. If nothing else this book provided me with hours of daydreaming fodder. So many concepts to turn over in the old creativity engine.

Kaku covers a lot of ground but my two favorite sections dealt with telepathy/telekinesis, and surrogates. On the telepathy/telekinesis front, I think what’s most interesting is that the technology for these concepts already exists and is being used by patients who’ve suffered massive trauma in one form or another and no longer have full functionality of their bodies.

People who are bed-ridden, paralyzed from the neck down, are able to control computers remotely with just their thoughts. Sure, I’ve effectively distilled an incredibly complex process into only a few words, but that’s what I do. I’m like the Reverse Hyperbolist (a really peculiar super-villain if ever there were one).

These technologies are fascinating because as research advances and cost of production drops, we will soon see many of these gadgets in the homestead.

Introducing Muse: Changing The Way The World Thinks from InteraXon on Vimeo.

As you can probably tell from the video (which came out last year) we’re still a ways off from having this tech readily available at the consumer level, but not sooo far off. I think within the next decade or so we’re going to see this tech implemented on a day to day level in the same way smart phones have stormed into our lives like a hungry yeti.

There is no fighting it, just let the yeti have its way with you.

Oh, you poor, poor Yeti snack.

Anyways, surrogates were the other section of the book I found fascinating. The general idea is that in the future we’ll be able to control surrogate robotic bodies with just our thoughts. The possibilities this opens up are truly staggering. This single idea has been a sci-fi trope for decades, but most recently it was probably handled best by John Scaliz in Lock In.

Whether we’re talking about surrogates aiding in military operations, assisted living scenarios, or just handling the jobs too dangerous to send humans to do (shutting down post-critical nuclear reactors *cough cough Fukishima cough cough*), this single technological advancement has huge implications.

Okay, now the negatives. Often times Kaku talks about technologies which are “theoretically” possible, and in his enthusiasm forgets that all sorts of things are theoretically possible while still remaining for all practical purposes, impossible.

Often times he says that we have the math and technology for such and such, but now it’s simply a matter of engineering. Sure, that might be true, but that doesn’t really get us any closer to possible. In the end, Kaku glosses over very crippling engineering hurdles as though they were merely a speed bump. In some instances I think he is correct, given enough time and funding, we will unlock some of the technologies he references in the book. Others, however, I’m afraid will forever remain outside of our grasp.

But hey, that could just be me being cynical and short-sighted. I wouldn’t be the first person accused of such a crime. Then again, I’m a science fiction writer, so that pesky nuance of “engineering” doesn’t really matter to me. As long as the science is sound, I can run circles around those engineering fools, creating all sorts of new materials that allow my stories nearly magical abilities. Right? Right?!

Ok, fine. Nevermind. *grumble grumble.*