Idgie Says:This is a compilation of stories that I would say veer heavily toward scientific and technical content. More on the side of science writing than science fiction writing. But no matter if the subject is based around technical how to of a space bar in the atmosphere, rather than the aliens that might be drinking at the bar, they are put forth in a positive manner of what we can do with our world, instead of how we will ruin it. That right there makes is an interesting read.
Hieroglyph: Stories and Visions for a Better Future
by Ed Finn, Kathryn Cramer
William Morrow
September 9, 2014
560 pages
Book Description:
In his 2011 article “Innovation Starvation,” Neal Stephenson argued that we—the society whose earlier scientists and engineers witnessed the airplane, the automobile, nuclear energy, the computer, and space exploration—must reignite our ambitions to think boldly and do Big Stuff. He also advanced the Hieroglyph Theory which illuminates the power of science fiction to inspire the inventive imagination: “Good SF supplies a plausible, fully thought-out picture of an alternate reality in which some sort of compelling innovation has taken place.”
In 2012, Arizona State University established the Center for Science and the Imagination to bring together writers, artists, and creative thinkers with scientists, engineers, and technologists to cultivate and expand on “moon shot ideas” that inspire the imagination and catalyze real-world innovations.
Now comes this remarkable anthology uniting twenty of today’s leading thinkers, writers, and visionaries—among them Cory Doctorow, Gregory Benford, Elizabeth Bear, Bruce Sterling, and Neal Stephenson—to contribute works of “techno-optimism” that challenge us to dream and do Big Stuff . Engaging, mind-bending, provocative, and imaginative, Hieroglyph offers a forward-thinking approach to the intersection of art and technology that has the power to change our world.