TechKnow - an exciting series from Wiley, the Science Museum and the Dana Centre
Curious about technology? Want to join the discussion on how it will affect our futures?
Then watch out for the TechKnow series, launching in April 2008, in conjunction with the Dana Centre. The books will get you up to speed with the most-thought provoking issues of the day. And leave you wanting more.... Each book brings to life a particular area of technology and takes an informal, sometimes controversial yet always challenging look at where we are now, where future developments will take us - and how they'll affect as individuals and as a society. Peppered with real-life stories from across the globe and interviews with those at the cutting edge, these books will fuel your mind and get you thinking beyond the technology headlines!
Powering Up: Are Computer Games Changing Our Lives? by Rebecca Mileham
In Powering Up, Rebecca Mileham looks at the facts behind the headlines to see what effect the current epidemic of game-playing is really having on us and the society we live in. Is it making us obese, anti-social, violent and addicted .... or just giving us different ways of getting cleverer, fitter and more skilled? She examines the evidence, from experts and gamers alike, and asks some controversial and thought-provoking questions:
- Are car-driving games turning us into boy racers?
- Could becoming a virtual bully help children solve classroom disputes?
- Should you feel remorse for killing pixel people?
- Can games get ex-prisoners back to work?
If you're part of the gaming revolution yourself, or are just curious to know what's fact and fiction in the media coverage of this topic, then Powering Up is the book for you.
About the Author: Rebecca Mileham has written for the Sunday Times, She magazine, and for museums all over the UK. In ten years at the Science Museum, London, she developed exhibitions on topics as diverse as Charles Babbage’s Difference Engines, robotic submarines, face transplants and the male pill. www.rebecca.mileham.net
ISBN 978-0-470-72310-4 £12.99 Paperback
Being Virtual: Who You Really Are Online by Davey Winder
In Being Virtual, Davey Winder looks at how an increasing number of us are living part-real, part-virtual lives and how it affects who we are. He looks at the opportunities and dangers that a virtual identity offers us, how we juggle our real and online lives, and what happens when one spills over into the other...Along the way, he looks at some fascinating questions such as:
- Are you virtual liar?
- What happens when our virtual and real worlds collide?
- Why will you talk to anyone online, but nobody on the train to work?
- Is it possible to have any secrets in such a connected world?
Being Virtual gives you a glimpse into the future of human identity, and is a must-read for anyone who uses the internet to enhance - or escape from - their "ordinary" life!
Read a sample chapter
About the Author: Davey Winder has been a freelance journalist for 16 years, and is Contributing Editor of the best-selling IT magazine, PC Pro. He has picked up many awards including Technology Journalist of the Year and IT Security Journalist of the Year. A founder member of the Internet Society of England and author of more than 20 books, his blog can be found at happygeeknewmedia.blogspot.com/
978-0-470-72362-3 £12.99 Paperback
Enhancing Me: The Hope and Hype of Human Enhancement by Pete Moore
In Enhancing Me, Pete Moore examines the ways in which technology can change our bodies, our brains, our emotions, and how long we live. He also looks at what drives us to be 'superhuman,' and the consequences for individual and society alike:
- If you could live forever, would you want to?
- If you could download your mind onto a computer, would you still be you?
- Should we insert chips into our children, so we can track where they are?
- Should we force violent criminals to have mood-controlling brain implants?
- Would you want technology to improve your memory... or help you forget?
If you've ever wondered - or worried - about the pace at which technology is progressing, then Enhancing Me will give you an eye-opening glimpse of the future in this fascinating field!
About the Author: Pete Moore has been a freelance science writer since 1993, and specialises in making ‘academish’ intelligible to people who only speak English! He has received seven national awards for his work, and has appeared on radio and television on 50 different occasions, discussing his books and related news events. He is a public speaker and a member of Toastmasters International; as well as a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a visiting lecturer in ethics at Trinity College Bristol, and a course tutor on the Science Communication MSc at the University of the West of England, Bristol. www.petemoore.biz
978-0-470-72409-5 £12.99 Paperback
For further information, to request a review copy or arrange an interview, please contact Julia Lampam on 01243 770668 or jlampam@wiley.co.uk
To find out more about the series go to www.danacentre.org.uk/techknow
