The Visioneers: How a Group of Elite Scientists Pursued Space Colonies, Nanotech

Description: The Visioneers by W. Patrick McCray Estimated delivery 3-12 business days Format Paperback Condition Brand New Description In 1969, Princeton physicist Gerard ONeill began looking outward to space colonies as the new frontier for humanitys expansion. A decade later, Eric Drexler, an MIT-trained engineer, turned his attention to the molecular world as the place where societys future needs could be met using self-replicating nanoscale machines. These modern utopians p Publisher Description In 1969, Princeton physicist Gerard ONeill began looking outward to space colonies as the new frontier for humanitys expansion. A decade later, Eric Drexler, an MIT-trained engineer, turned his attention to the molecular world as the place where societys future needs could be met using self-replicating nanoscale machines. These modern utopians predicted that their technologies could transform society as humans mastered the ability to create new worlds, undertook atomic-scale engineering, and, if truly successful, overcame their own biological limits. The Visioneers tells the story of how these scientists and the communities they fostered imagined, designed, and popularized speculative technologies such as space colonies and nanotechnologies. Patrick McCray traces how these visioneers blended countercultural ideals with hard science, entrepreneurship, libertarianism, and unbridled optimism about the future. He shows how they built networks that communicated their ideas to writers, politicians, and corporate leaders. But the visioneers were not immune to failure--or to the lures of profit, celebrity, and hype.ONeill and Drexler faced difficulty funding their work and overcoming colleagues skepticism, and saw their ideas co-opted and transformed by Timothy Leary, the scriptwriters of Star Trek, and many others. Ultimately, both men struggled to overcome stigma and ostracism as they tried to unshackle their visioneering from pejorative labels like "fringe" and "pseudoscience." The Visioneers provides a balanced look at the successes and pitfalls they encountered. The book exposes the dangers of promotion--oversimplification, misuse, and misunderstanding--that can plague exploratory science. But above all, it highlights the importance of radical new ideas that inspire us to support cutting-edge research into tomorrows technologies. Author Biography W. Patrick McCray is professor of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of Keep Watching the Skies!: The Story of Operation Moonwatch and the Dawn of the Space Age (Princeton) and Giant Telescopes: Astronomical Ambition and the Promise of Technology. Details ISBN 0691176299 ISBN-13 9780691176291 Title The Visioneers Author W. Patrick McCray Format Paperback Year 2017 Pages 368 Publisher Princeton University Press GE_Item_ID:128692696; About Us Grand Eagle Retail is the ideal place for all your shopping needs! With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and over 1,000,000 in stock items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! Shipping & Delivery Times Shipping is FREE to any address in USA. Please view eBay estimated delivery times at the top of the listing. Deliveries are made by either USPS or Courier. We are unable to deliver faster than stated. International deliveries will take 1-6 weeks. NOTE: We are unable to offer combined shipping for multiple items purchased. This is because our items are shipped from different locations. Returns If you wish to return an item, please consult our Returns Policy as below: Please contact Customer Services and request "Return Authorisation" before you send your item back to us. Unauthorised returns will not be accepted. Returns must be postmarked within 4 business days of authorisation and must be in resellable condition. Returns are shipped at the customer's risk. We cannot take responsibility for items which are lost or damaged in transit. For purchases where a shipping charge was paid, there will be no refund of the original shipping charge. Additional Questions If you have any questions please feel free to Contact Us. Categories Baby Books Electronics Fashion Games Health & Beauty Home, Garden & Pets Movies Music Sports & Outdoors Toys

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End Time: 2025-01-29T04:22:59.000Z

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