000			03243nam a2200349 a 4500
001			0000159636
005			20171002062907.0
006			m u
007			cr cn|||||||||
008			120613s2013 njua sb 001 0 eng d
010			_z 2012017061
020			_z9780691139838 (hardback : acid-free paper)
020			_z9781400844685 (e-book)
035			_a(CaPaEBR)ebr10624605
035			_a(OCoLC)823739755
040			_aCaPaEBR _cCaPaEBR
050	1	4	_aQ125 _b.M417 2013eb
082	0	4	_a509 _223
100	1		_aMcCray, Patrick _q(W. Patrick)
245	1	4	_aThe visioneers _h[electronic resource] : _bhow a group of elite scientists pursued space colonies, nanotechnologies, and a limitless future / _cW. Patrick McCray.
260			_aPrinceton : _bPrinceton University Press, _c2013.
300			_axii, 351 p. : _bill.
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
520			_a"In 1969, Princeton physicist Gerard O'Neill began looking outward to space colonies as the new frontier for humanity's expansion. A decade later, Eric Drexler, an MIT-trained engineer, turned his attention to the molecular world as the place where society's future needs could be met using self-replicating nanoscale machines. These modern utopians predicted that their technologies could transform society as humans mastered the ability to create new worlds, undertook atomic-scale engineering, and, if truly successful, overcame their own biological limits. The Visioneers tells the story of how these scientists and the communities they fostered imagined, designed, and popularized speculative technologies such as space colonies and nanotechnologies. Patrick McCray traces how these visioneers blended countercultural ideals with hard science, entrepreneurship, libertarianism, and unbridled optimism about the future. He shows how they built networks that communicated their ideas to writers, politicians, and corporate leaders. But the visioneers were not immune to failure--or to the lures of profit, celebrity, and hype. O'Neill and Drexler faced difficulty funding their work and overcoming colleagues' skepticism, and saw their ideas co-opted and transformed by Timothy Leary, the scriptwriters of Star Trek, and many others. Ultimately, both men struggled to overcome stigma and ostracism as they tried to unshackle their visioneering from pejorative labels like "fringe" and "pseudoscience." The Visioneers provides a balanced look at the successes and pitfalls they encountered. The book exposes the dangers of promotion--oversimplification, misuse, and misunderstanding--that can plague exploratory science. But above all, it highlights the importance of radical new ideas that inspire us to support cutting-edge research into tomorrow's technologies"-- _cProvided by publisher.
533			_aElectronic reproduction. _bPalo Alto, Calif. : _cebrary, _d2011. _nAvailable via World Wide Web. _nAccess may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries.
650		0	_aScience _xHistory.
650		0	_aVisionaries.
655		7	_aElectronic books. _2local
710	2		_aebrary, Inc.
856	4	0	_uhttp://site.ebrary.com/lib/daystar/Doc?id=10624605 _zAn electronic book accessible through the World Wide Web; click to view
908			_a170314
942	0	0	_cEB
999			_c148783 _d148783