The Shape of Shit to Come

I picked this up as I have a great interest in the near future, in how technology will take us in the next two hundred years or so. I’ve been greatly impressed with the work of authors like Michio Kaku, whose works Physics of the Future and Physics of the Impossible, look at just this from a serious scientific point of view (Mr Kaku being an astrophysicist).

The Shape of Shit to Come promised to deliver just such a read, albeit in a more satirical and comedic sense. In many ways it did just that.  Covering topics such as genetics, robotics, and space travel to name just a few, and doing so in an amusing and easy to understand manner, I definitely felt that I came away from the read enriched and educated. Sometimes I did feel that the authors tried a little too hard to be funny however and occasionally I felt that the sarcasm and humour got in the way of a real understanding of the issue at hand. Whereas their irreverence ensured that they avoided the pitfalls Micio Kaku occasionally falls into – e.g. a wide-eyed, innocence where the technology is concerned that leads him to conclude that the outcome will be some kind of perfect nirvana – on occasion it leads them to the other extreme.

One the whole though, while I prefer Michio Kaku’s work I have to say that The Shape of Shit to Come is a valuable addition to the cannon of furturism work and I would highly recommend it.

I would give it 5 out of 5 stars.