Simon Torok and Paul Holper, Imagining the Future: invisibility, immortality and 40 other incredible ideas, CSIRO Publishing, June 2016, 144pp., $24.95 (pbk), ISBN 9781486302727
Oh, this book is awesome! So much information about so many topics from flying cars to eMoney, from talking to animals to living on Mars. Any futuristic idea that you’ve seen in movies or on the news seems to be here. Within the quite dense text are not false promises about the future but snippets of news about what’s happening right now and what might be possible soon. Some myths are dispelled – it does seem highly unlikely that we’ll be living on Mars in my lifetime – while innovations are celebrated (invisible skin? Who would have thought?). There’s even room to write down your own ideas in the back of the book.
This is a book that will encourage both imagination and logical thinking in readers. The authors have a non-sensationalist but exciting way of presenting ideas that reflects the experience they have in science communication. The book has supporting graphics and is full of colour and movement. Highly recommended for the aspiring scientist. Or writer. Or any reader moving forward eagerly into the future.
Teacher Notes are available on the CSIRO Publishing website.
Reviewed by Pam Harvey
