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1.0 out of 5 stars
Look out Galileo, Copernicus, Dr. Frankenstein, et al!, Jun 14 2004
The only thing new about this book is the author and the printing date. Its premise is as old as recorded history. "Man dare not venture into some areas or he risks waking the demon, being eaten by the sea monster, incurring the wrath of the gods, creating the Frankenstein monster, etc."First of all, these dire predictions seldom (if ever) come to pass. Nuclear power is an excellent example. In spite of the dire warnings and gloomy scenarios, some how we've managed to avoid annihilation (I can hear the collective "well, not yet" issuing from the Naderites), much to the chagrin of doom-prophets like McKibben, I'm sure. We seem to manage to stay alive and even prosper whatever technologies we happen develop. Most importantly, McKibben's proposal that we ban, cease, outlaw, restrict, move backwards, whatever, is untenable. You cannot stop people from eventually exploring these areas. The technologies will be developed. Pass all the laws you want. Set up all the inquisitions you can muster. Burn all the heretics you can round up. The Bible will still be translated into English. The printing press will still disseminate information to the masses. The world will still revolve around the sun, not vice versa. Even though God didn't give man wings he can still fly. The automobile will replace the horse. It will still be possible to exceed the speed of sound. Man will still be descended from lower life forms, and on and on. McKibben challenges us to face the "fact" that things are as good as we need them to be. He asks us to imagine how life could actually be any better and believes that we must admit that we can't. Well, horse hockey! Ask someone at the end of the 19th century the same question and they would probably not be able to imagine the world we live in. They would probably have agreed with the statement, "Life can't get any better than it is right now." Point is we can't know what all this will mean for the future of mankind. I, for one, am not willing to abandon possibilities based on the fear mongering of a twenty-first century naysayer. As for his argument that all this is somehow dehumanizing, nothing is more human than improving who we are and how we live. That is exactly how we've survived for the past 3.5 million years. Sorry Bill, but you can take your place with the old wives and leave the rest of us alone. I'm glad McKibben has the ability to say what he says. He needs to thank technological advancement for the opportunity. Other wise, he'd still be plowing a field to put bread on the table instead of cashing a check and going to the store. This book is one of the best examples of cultural lag that I've seen lately. The sad thing is that so many agree with the premise out of ignorance and fear. But, that too has had it evolutionary advantages. Fortunately, it's always been the progressives that adapted and survived. Sorry Bill, I think you're headed for extinction.
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