Who Gives a Gigabyte?: A Survival Guide for the Technologically Perplexed
Which new technologies will change our lives the most in the years ahead? Introducing today's brave new world of gene therapy, quantum computation, designer drugs, and recyclable cars, Who Gives a Gigabyte? surveys the exciting range of technological wonders reshaping our world--as well as those soon to come--and offers simple, engaging explanations of what they are and how they work.
Scientific American senior editor Gary Stix and journalist Miriam Lacob combine their skills to take readers on a wonderfully lucid and fast-paced tour of the most important recent developments in genetics, medicine, cybernetics, telecommunications, robotics, micromachines, environmental cleanup, and more.
Based on interviews with today's leading technology developers as well as extensive research of the scientific literature, Who Gives a Gigabyte? explains in plain English what the new technologies are, how they work, how they will most likely evolve in the near future, and how they will affect our lives in the next century. Focusing on areas that are most important to today's consumer, the book explores:
- Computing
- Telecommunications
- Laser Beams
- Bioengineering Materials
- Alternative Energy Sources
Readers will be entertained by vivid descriptions and illustrations, refreshed by the authors' wonderfully jargon-free writing, and intrigued by all of the exciting possibilities revealed. Who Gives a Gigabyte? is indispensable reading for careful consumers, forward-thinking investors, and concerned citizens alike.
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Book details
- Author
- Gary Stix, Miriam Lacob
- Imprint
- Trade Paper Press, an imprint of Turner Publishing Company
- Published
- Pages
- 304
- Formats
- Hardcover
- Subjects
- Technology & Engineering › Social Aspects
Science › Philosophy & Social Aspects
Technology & Engineering › Industrial Technology - Topics
- emerging technology · genetics · medicine · robotics · telecommunications · quantum computing · environmental technology · technology and society
- ISBN-13
- 9780471162933
About the author
GARY STIX is a journalist and author who spent nearly 35 years as a senior editor at Scientific American. He is the co-author of Who Gives a Gigabyte?: A Survival Guide for the Technologically Perplexed, written with his wife, Miriam Lacob.
Stix earned an undergraduate degree in journalism from New York University. Before joining Scientific American in 1990, he spent three years as a science journalist at IEEE Spectrum. At Scientific American, he served as special projects editor overseeing annual single-topic special issues, later focusing on mind and brain topics. A special issue he edited on the subject of time received a National Magazine Award.
Stix retired from Scientific American in 2025.