Ten technologies that might change the world: A review of Soonish

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I only read three comics regularly, and one of those is Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (SMBC). It is a comic that is clever and funny—even educational on occasion. I think it is safe to call me a fan. So, I was pretty excited to hear that Katy and Zach Weinersmith had decided to cowrite a book. Even better, it was a book about science.

Soonish is a not a single story, instead, it is 10 short stories. Pulling out the crystal ball, the Weinersmiths have chosen 10 areas that many hope will become actual, factual things that exist outside of our head or the lab. Each chapter is split into four parts: the first part tells us what the thing—brain computer interface, for instance—is, how it might be put together, and why we don't already have one. The second part asks the eternal question: what could possibly go wrong? And, the third prognosticates on how the world will be changed by the thing. The last part is a funny anecdote about some of their encounters while researching the chapter.

Now, you may or may not agree with the Weinersmiths' choices—space elevators? Not something I'd pick as ever being a thing—but their research is what brings their choices to life. They've spent a lot of time buried under papers and talking to scientists. You can sort of feel the weight of the research pressing down on you as you read it. Not in a bad way—more like an extra blanket on a cold night.