Dawn of the New Everything: A Journey Through Virtual Reality

Product Description

Imagine you could have a different body. What would you be? Imagine you could inhabit a different world. Where would go? Imagine if the only restrictions whatsoever were the limits of your imagination. What would you do? Inventor, philosopher and visionary computer scientist Jaron Lanier coined the term 'virtual reality' almost thirty years ago. Now, thanks to technologies that he invented and pioneered, his vision is coming to life. It will be one of the most fertile advances in the history of human invention -- and it will change everything. Blending memoir and philosophy, thought experiments and cognitive science, Lanier takes us on an intoxicating personal journey- from his outsider's upbringing in the desert of New Mexico and the birth of Silicon Valley amidst the countercultural ethos of the '70s to the pioneering edge of digital technology, immersing the reader in the extravagant possibilities that lie ahead. This book will change your understanding of what we can be and what we can do. Awesome, inspiring, creative and humane - welcome to the great adventure of our times.Imagine you could have a different body. What would you be? Imagine you could inhabit a different world. Where would go? Imagine if the only restrictions whatsoever were the limits of your imagination. What would you do? Inventor, philosopher and visionary computer scientist Jaron Lanier coined the term 'virtual reality' almost thirty years ago. Now, thanks to technologies that he invented and pioneered, his vision is coming to life. It will be one of the most fertile advances in the history of human invention -- and it will change everything. Blending memoir and philosophy, thought experiments and cognitive science, Lanier takes us on an intoxicating personal journey- from his outsider's upbringing in the desert of New Mexico and the birth of Silicon Valley amidst the countercultural ethos of the '70s to the pioneering edge of digital technology, immersing the reader in the extravagant possibilities that lie ahead. This book will change your understanding of what we can be and what we can do. Awesome, inspiring, creative and humane - welcome to the great adventure of our times.
Jaron Lanier is a philosopher and computer scientist who has spent his career pushing the transformative power of modern technology to its limits. From coining the term 'Virtual Reality' and creating the world's first immersive avatars to developing cutting-edge medical imaging and surgical techniques, Lanier is one of the premier designers and engineers at work today. He is also one of the most celebrated technology writers in the world, whose previous book Who Owns the Future? was named the most important book of 2013 by Joe Nocera in The New York Times and whose first book You Are Not a Gadget was named one of the ten best books of 2010 by Michiko Kakutani in The New York Times. He was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time, one of the 100 top public intellectuals by Foreign Policy, and one of the top 50 World Thinkers by Prospect. He is currently Interdisciplinary Scientist at Microsoft Research and a highly accomplished musician with one of the largest and most varied collections of actively played rare instruments in the world. Jaron Lanier is a philosopher and computer scientist who has spent his career pushing the transformative power of modern technology to its limits. From coining the term 'Virtual Reality' and creating the world's first immersive avatars to developing cutting-edge medical imaging and surgical techniques, Lanier is one of the premier designers and engineers at work today. Linked with UC Berkeley and Microsoft, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the IEEE in 2009. A musician with a collection of over 700 instruments, he has been recognized by Encyclopedia Britannica (but certainly not Wikipedia) as one of history's 300 or so greatest inventors