http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/ The field of neurotechnology, the focus of this blog, encompasses advances in brain science (neurons), information technology (bits) and bioengineering (genes). Up for discussion and analysis: the political, economic, ethical, and social forces that will shape the future of what will be one of the most important and fascinating stories of the coming decades. en-us zack@neurosociety.net 2004-11-16T04:56:25-05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/archives/what_drives_great_surges_of_development.php Carlota Perez has a clue: "Great surges of development represent the gradual integral transformation of both the techno-economic and the socio-institutional spheres of the social system, through the assimilation a cluster of converging technologies. A great surge leads to structural... 28603@http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/ NeuroWave 2010-2060 2004-11-16T04:56:25-05:00 http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/archives/forecasting_the_neurosociety.php I have spent the past few weeks writing a chapter on neuropolicy for a book on converging technologies. Here is a small excerpt about the model I use to understand our emerging neurosociety: "If forecasting a specific event or potential... 5161@http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/ NeuroWave 2010-2060 2004-07-20T21:00:35-05:00 http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/archives/long_living_humans_require_better_tools_for_mental_health.php In a recent Fortune article, The End of Aging, Aubrey de Grey boldly predicts that life spans will increase dramatically in the coming years. Needless to say, his thoughts have created quite a bit of conversation (see the 100 comments... 4327@http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/ NeuroWave 2010-2060 2004-06-15T18:35:16-05:00 http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/archives/lynchs_15_laws_of_the_neurosociety.php Each year John Brockman at the Edge poses a thought provoking question to the world community to ponder and answer. Last year's question was "What are the pressing scientific issues for the nation and the world, and what is your... 1865@http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/ NeuroWave 2010-2060 2004-02-12T13:11:55-05:00 http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/archives/emergent_democracy_participatory_economics_and_social_software.php By viewing history as a series of techno-economic waves with accompanying socio-political responses it is possible to understand how new technologies shape human society. As Brian Arthur has successfully argued, the information technology wave has reached the golden age. While... 1147@http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/ NeuroWave 2010-2060 2004-02-10T10:41:34-05:00 http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/archives/plows_bronze_and_wheels.php A piece from my book, that may soon become a note... Around 10,000 years ago humans began to take advantage of their natural landscapes in ways that their ancestors could not have imagined. The agricultural revolution began in fits and... 838@http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/ NeuroWave 2010-2060 2003-12-10T16:51:18-05:00 http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/archives/whats_next_a_nano_or_neuro_wave.php U.C. Berkeley economic historian Brad Delong proposed a techno-economic framework to try and understand how nanotechnology will impact the economy and society: (his full post) "Let me simply assert that a fruitful way to analyze the social and economic impact... 732@http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/ NeuroWave 2010-2060 2003-12-04T12:31:01-05:00 http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/archives/social_forecasting.php A bit from my forthcoming book...Brain Wave: Our Emerging Neurosociety People do a very poor job of predicting the future.  Take Lord Kelvin, the physicist and president of the British Royal Society, who in 1895 insisted, “Heavier-than-air flying machines are... 237@http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/ NeuroWave 2010-2060 2003-09-11T21:15:28-05:00 http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/archives/electricity_steel_and_skyscrapers_1870_1920.php (a bit from my book) After almost a century of research into the nature electricity, the 1870s would be the decade when the cluster of innovations that made the new electricity infrastructure emerged -- alternators, dynamos, generators, transformers, switch gear, and power distribution systems. As... 444@http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/ NeuroWave 2010-2060 2003-08-15T17:54:34-05:00 http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/archives/the_neurotechnology_wave_20102060.php Before I take a few weeks to focus on my book, I'm posting a paper I wrote that was recently accepted by the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.  I, like James Canton's paper on human performance enhancement, wrote... 450@http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/ NeuroWave 2010-2060 2003-07-24T12:45:34-05:00 http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/archives/it_competitive_advantage_hardly_over.php May's Harvard Business Review article, "IT Doesn't Matter," argues that information technology is inevitably headed in the same direction as the railroads, the telegraph, electricity and the internal combustion engine.  From a long-term standpoint (10-25 years) I tend to agree, but... 294@http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/ NeuroWave 2010-2060 2003-05-19T17:05:00-05:00 http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/archives/neurotechnology_before_genetic_engineering.php Bill McKibben's brave new book, Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age explores (excerpt) how human genetic technologies will soon give scientists the ability to re-engineer our children, undermining our common humanity, and leading to a 'posthuman' future. The human germ-line engineering debate... 314@http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/ NeuroWave 2010-2060 2003-04-23T13:11:05-05:00 http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/archives/neurotechnology_before_genetic_engineering.php Bill McKibben's brave new book, Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age explores (excerpt) how human genetic technologies will soon give scientists the ability to re-engineer our children, undermining our common humanity, and leading to a 'posthuman' future. The human germ-line engineering debate... 314@http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/ NeuroWave 2010-2060 2003-04-23T13:11:05-05:00 http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/archives/the_next_technoeconomic_wave.php By viewing history as a series of techno-economic waves with accompanying socio-political responses it is possible to begin to understand how new technologies impact society.  Techno-economic waves are driven by the development of a new low-cost input like the microchip. ... 320@http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/ NeuroWave 2010-2060 2003-04-15T22:04:03-05:00 http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/archives/what_is_neurotechnology.php Neurotechnology is the set of tools that influence the human central nervous system, especially the brain, to achieve a desired effect.  The Economist defines neurotechnology as any "technology that makes it possible to manipulate the brain." Instruments and techniques that are used... 265@http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/ Neurotech Industry 2003-03-03T11:32:05-05:00