Unnatural Selection: Why the Geeks Will Inherit the Earth

By Mark Roeder

Book Overview

Unnatural Selection is the first book to examine the rise of the "technocentric being"--or geek--who personifies a distinct new phase in human evolution. People considered geeks often have behavioral or genetic traits that were previously considered detrimental. But the new environment of the Anthropocene period--the Age of Man--has created a kind of digital greenhouse that actually favors their traits, enabling many non-neurotypical people to bloom. They resonate with the technological Zeitgeist in a way that turns their weaknesses into strengths. Think of Mark Zuckerberg versus the towering, Olympics-bound Winklevoss twins in the movie Social Network.

Roeder suggests that the rise of the geek is not so much the product of Darwinian "natural selection" as of man-made--or unnatural--selection. He explains why geeks have become so phenomenally successful in such a short time and why the process will further accelerate, driven by breakthroughs in genetic engineering, neuropharmacology, and artificial intelligence. His book offers a fascinating synthesis of the latest trends in these fields and predicts a twenty-first century "cognitive arms race" in which new technology will enable everyone to become more intelligent and "geek-like."

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1628724358
• ISBN13: 9781628724356
• Release Date: October 2014
• Publisher: Arcade Publishing
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.7" x 8.4"