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Future Stories

A user's guide to the future
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Future Stories by David Christian delves into the trajectories of the future by examining the past, offering insights into the forces and patterns that shape civilizations. It's an exploration of history's major trends and a quest to understand our potential future as a species, providing a thought-provoking perspective that bridges historical events with future possibilities.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're fascinated by the grand narrative of humanity and keen to explore possible future scenarios grounded in historical context. It appeals to those interested in understanding how history and science can inform our future choices in education and the broader world.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Big History professor and bestselling author of Origin Story tells you everything you need to know about the future in this ambitious, interdisciplinary book, taking in history, philosophy, theology, physics, biology, chemistry, and, of course, futurology...

Every second of our lives—whether we're looking both ways before crossing the street, celebrating the birth of a baby, or moving to a new city—we must cope with an unknowable future. How do we do this? And how do we, like most living organisms, manage this impossible challenge quite well... at least most of the time?

David Christian, historian and bestselling author of Origin Story, is renowned for pioneering the emerging discipline of Big History, which surveys the whole of the past. But with Future Stories, he casts his sharp analytical eye forward, offering an introduction to the strange world of the future, and a guide to what we think we know about it at all scales, from the predictive mechanisms of single-celled organisms and tomato plants to the merging of colossal galaxies billions of years from now.

Drawing together science and history, philosophy and theology from a huge range of places and times, Christian explores how we prepare for uncertain futures, including the future of human evolution, artificial intelligence, interstellar travel, and more. By linking the study of the past much more closely to the study of the future, we can begin to imagine what the world will look like in the next hundred years and consider solutions to the biggest challenges facing us all.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

David Christian offers a thought-provoking examination of "future thinking" in Future Stories, blending insights from history, science, and philosophy. Esteemed figures like Bill Gates highlight its potential in preparing for impending global challenges, while reviews commend its clarity in explaining complex topics. The book is both engaging and cautionary, providing an insightful look at the potential directions humanity might take.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781804990759

Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 15 June 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin (Transworld)

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 30.0mm

Width: 126.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 260g

Pages: 368

About the Author

David Christian is a Professor Emeritus at Macquarie University, where he was formerly a Distinguished Professor of History and the director of the Big History Institute. He has delivered keynotes at conferences around the world, including the Davos World Economic Forum, and his TED Talk has been viewed more than 19 million times. He is the author of numerous books including the New York Times bestseller Origin Story.

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