What will I learn about: how high rocket fuel costs are driving scientists to develop cheaper space exploration methods, such as giant space elevators, dual-engine spaceplanes, and asteroid-capturing nets?

Discover how high rocket fuel costs are driving scientists to develop cheaper space exploration methods, such as giant space elevators, dual-engine spaceplanes, and asteroid-capturing nets.

What will I learn about: the challenges of harnessing nuclear fusion and learn how projects like the ITER reactor plan to use magnetic fields to create clean, continuous energy by 2027?

Understand the challenges of harnessing nuclear fusion and learn how projects like the ITER reactor plan to use magnetic fields to create clean, continuous energy by 2027.

What will I learn about: Explore the medical breakthroughs of programmable matter through innovations like dissolving origami robots that can fold into different shapes to deliver targeted treatments inside the body?

Explore the medical breakthroughs of programmable matter through innovations like dissolving origami robots that can fold into different shapes to deliver targeted treatments inside the body.

What will I learn about: Grapple with the ethical and legal dilemmas posed by futuristic shape-shifting materials, such as a programmable 'Bucket of Stuff' that could form either harmless tools or dangerous weapons?

Grapple with the ethical and legal dilemmas posed by futuristic shape-shifting materials, such as a programmable 'Bucket of Stuff' that could form either harmless tools or dangerous weapons.

What will I learn about: how emerging robotics and 3D printing technologies are preparing to overcome the complexities of traditional construction to autonomously build custom-made homes?

Find out how emerging robotics and 3D printing technologies are preparing to overcome the complexities of traditional construction to autonomously build custom-made homes.

Soonish

Ten Emerging Technologies That’ll Improve and/or Ruin Everything

Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith

★ 4.4 / 5(36 ratings)

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Categories:

Technology & the Future

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

💡Did you know that the secret to cheap space travel might not be better rockets, but a literal elevator stretching thousands of miles into the sky?
💡What if you could bypass the organ donor waiting list entirely by 'printing' a brand-new, functional human heart on demand?
💡Have you ever wondered why revolutionary technologies like fusion power and asteroid mining always seem to be 'ten years away' from changing the world?

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Key Takeaways from Soonish

✓Discover how high rocket fuel costs are driving scientists to develop cheaper space exploration methods, such as giant space elevators, dual-engine spaceplanes, and asteroid-capturing nets.
✓Understand the challenges of harnessing nuclear fusion and learn how projects like the ITER reactor plan to use magnetic fields to create clean, continuous energy by 2027.
✓Explore the medical breakthroughs of programmable matter through innovations like dissolving origami robots that can fold into different shapes to deliver targeted treatments inside the body.
✓Grapple with the ethical and legal dilemmas posed by futuristic shape-shifting materials, such as a programmable 'Bucket of Stuff' that could form either harmless tools or dangerous weapons.
✓Find out how emerging robotics and 3D printing technologies are preparing to overcome the complexities of traditional construction to autonomously build custom-made homes.

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from Soonish

Mind Map

Soonish

Space Exploration+

Fusion Power+

Programmable Matter & Construction+

Augmented Reality (AR)+

Synthetic Biology+

Precision Medicine & Bioprinting+

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI)+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 9

Why are spaceplanes considered a potentially cheaper alternative to traditional rockets?

A. They rely entirely on solar energy once they leave the Earth's atmosphere.
B. They use air and fuel to leave the atmosphere, reducing the need to carry heavy and expensive oxidizers.
C. They are built exclusively from 3D-printed carbon fiber, making them highly lightweight.
D. They use magnetic levitation tracks to launch directly into orbit without fuel.

Question 2 of 9

What is the primary advantage of the ITER fusion reactor design over the 'blasting' approach?

A. It creates a continuous chain reaction within a magnetically confined plasma chamber.
B. It uses high-powered lasers to blast fusion fuel into immediate, massive reactions.
C. It relies on splitting atoms apart rather than fusing them together, which requires less energy.
D. It is already producing significantly more energy than it consumes as of 2020.

Question 3 of 9

What ethical or security concern is raised in the book regarding advanced programmable matter (the 'Bucket of Stuff')?

A. It could spontaneously mutate and harm the natural environment.
B. People could easily program the material to create untraceable weapons like guns.
C. The material emits radiation that poses a long-term health risk to consumers.
D. It would require massive amounts of internet bandwidth, crashing global networks.

Question 4 of 9

According to the book, what is a predicted negative societal impact of using autonomous 3D-printing robots for construction?

A. A severe global shortage of concrete and traditional building materials.
B. The inability to build structures in dangerous or unstable environments.
C. An increase in the wage gap, paying engineers more while ground crews are paid less.
D. The creation of houses that are structurally weaker than traditionally built homes.

Question 5 of 9

How does Augmented Reality (AR) primarily differ from Virtual Reality (VR) according to the text?

A. AR completely immerses the user in a newly generated digital environment.
B. AR adds digital layers of information onto the real, physical world around the user.
C. AR is only used for entertainment, whereas VR is used for industrial training.
D. AR requires surgical implants, while VR relies entirely on external headsets.

Question 6 of 9

What is the CRISPR-Cas9 technology primarily used for in synthetic biology?

A. Creating entirely synthetic organisms from scratch using computer code.
B. 3D-printing customized human organs for transplant patients.
C. Eradicating malaria by chemically treating mosquito breeding grounds.
D. Cutting out specific pieces of DNA and adding them to another organism's genome.

Question 7 of 9

In the context of precision medicine, what is a 'metabolome'?

A. A patient's unique system of molecules, like sugars and vitamins, that help the body function.
B. A tiny robotic device injected into the bloodstream to monitor sugar levels.
C. A digital database that tracks the global spread of infectious diseases.
D. A specific gene sequence that makes individuals resistant to certain viruses.

Question 8 of 9

What has been the biggest challenge for scientists attempting to 3D-print functional human organs?

A. Finding a printer large enough to print an adult-sized liver.
B. Preventing the bio-ink from turning into plastic after it cools down.
C. Recreating the tiny blood vessels necessary to keep the organ alive and working.
D. Sourcing enough pig intestines to act as the base material for the organ structures.

Question 9 of 9

What is the current primary focus of scientific research regarding brain-computer interfaces?

A. Enhancing human intelligence so people can download information directly to their brains.
B. Fixing physical and neurological problems, such as blindness or paralysis.
C. Developing telepathic communication devices for covert military operations.
D. Creating virtual reality games that are controlled entirely by thought.

Soonish — Full Chapter Overview

1Recommendation
2Progress in space exploration is limited by the huge cost of reaching space.
3Fusion energy has been difficult to master, but this could soon change.
4Programmable matter could be used for fields like medicine and building.
5Emerging technologies are enabling buildings put together by robots.
6Augmented reality will boost our productivity, but it also raises several worries.
7Synthetic biology may transform life on Earth as we understand it.
8Tomorrow’s precision medicine could deliver instant, exact diagnoses and treatments.
9Researchers are working on ways to 3D print human organs.
10Although upgrading the human brain is distant, brain-computer links are advancing fast.

Soonish Summary & Overview

Soonish (2017) explores transformative technologies that will emerge in the future, from space exploration to brain-to-computer interfaces, and the ongoing real-world efforts undertaken to make them a reality today. For each technology explored, Kelly and Zach Weinersmith consider its current status, the primary concerns and the effect each technology is likely to have on the world as we know it.

Who Should Listen to Soonish?

Students of science and technology
Science-fiction enthusiasts
Readers curious about theoretical science

About the Author: Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith

Dr. Kelly Weinersmith works in the BioSciences department at Rice University, and is the cohost of Science . . . Sort Of, a top-rated science podcast. Her research has been featured in the Atlantic, National Geographic and BBC World.

Zach Weinersmith is the creator of the popular webcomic, Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. His work has also been featured in a variety of publications, including the Economist, the Wall Street Journal, Slate and Forbes.

Soonish

If You're Curious About These Questions...

Listen to Soonish — Free Audiobook

Key Takeaways from Soonish

Learning Tools

Mind Map

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Soonish — Full Chapter Overview

Soonish Summary & Overview

Who Should Listen to Soonish?

About the Author: Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith

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