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The Accelerating World: Speed vs. Control
Have you noticed the world accelerating around you? Do you feel excited, interested, curious, surprised, cautious or even fascinated? Have you wondered about how to cope with this? Then this book is for you.
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Over the past five decades, several mysterious and seemingly unrelated events have taken place. Sand has become rare. Species have disappeared at unprecedented rates. Diabetes rates have boomed. Online data thefts have surged. Urbanization and waste have soared. What is happening? Is it globalization? Or is something much deeper taking place, something that the world had never experienced before - a tremendous acceleration?
Why and how has this acceleration been possible? What are the implications of a new accelerating world and does it necessarily lead to a loss of control? The Accelerating World: Speed vs. Control will take you through captivating anecdotes and data analysis in seven areas: Population, Economy, Technology, Data, Environment, Freedoms and Health. From the implications of a world adding a billion more people every 12 years, to global GDP explosion (X10 in a century!), exponential computing capabilities, environmental use or what it means to live in a world of data and individual freedoms. The Accelerating World: Speed vs. control will take you through some 100 graphical analysis with anecdotes on where the world is and where the acceleration is leading.
But beyond these past five decades, it is the future which is now at stake. Has the time come for key choices to be made, and decide how to channel and control this exhilarating acceleration? With a constructive mindset, various proposals are explored. Including global governance mechanisms to enable the world to cope and regain control of this acceleration.
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Over the past five decades, several mysterious and seemingly unrelated events have taken place. Sand has become rare. Species have disappeared at unprecedented rates. Diabetes rates have boomed. Online data thefts have surged. Urbanization and waste have soared. What is happening? Is it globalization? Or is something much deeper taking place, something that the world had never experienced before - a tremendous acceleration?
Why and how has this acceleration been possible? What are the implications of a new accelerating world and does it necessarily lead to a loss of control? The Accelerating World: Speed vs. Control will take you through captivating anecdotes and data analysis in seven areas: Population, Economy, Technology, Data, Environment, Freedoms and Health. From the implications of a world adding a billion more people every 12 years, to global GDP explosion (X10 in a century!), exponential computing capabilities, environmental use or what it means to live in a world of data and individual freedoms. The Accelerating World: Speed vs. control will take you through some 100 graphical analysis with anecdotes on where the world is and where the acceleration is leading.
But beyond these past five decades, it is the future which is now at stake. Has the time come for key choices to be made, and decide how to channel and control this exhilarating acceleration? With a constructive mindset, various proposals are explored. Including global governance mechanisms to enable the world to cope and regain control of this acceleration.
322 pages, Paperback
Published December 1, 2016
2 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 23, 2017
"Accelerating World: Speed vs. Control" by Emmanuel Cassimatis held me in its grip due to the anecdotes accompanying the case of our accelerating world. Short scenes permitted easy reading. I'd like all high school students to have access to this book and as a must-read. Hopefully, the next generation will lead our world into a better place. For adults, "Accelerating World" provides facts for stimulating conversation with colleagues, family, and friends. We all need to get on this conversation.
December 6, 2016
The book offers very interesting approach to existing serious phenomenons but never boring. The style is enjoyable as it uses anecdotes, and at the same time it is scientific as it reports true data.
Really a book for everyone:
for the ones that already know the matters, it offers data and numbers (surprising), for the ones that do not know but want to know more, I think it offers a comprhensive overlook of the areas analyzed...
...and for the ones that do not believe, well, I think it would be time to start!
Size of the book -> well manageable to put in bags, backpacks or 24 hours bags.
Really a book for everyone:
for the ones that already know the matters, it offers data and numbers (surprising), for the ones that do not know but want to know more, I think it offers a comprhensive overlook of the areas analyzed...
...and for the ones that do not believe, well, I think it would be time to start!
Size of the book -> well manageable to put in bags, backpacks or 24 hours bags.
December 6, 2016
Extremely interesting and I loved the small stories! wow the world is indeed accelerating.... It is all around us. I liked the part on debates and thoughts on global mechanisms, but can this really be put in place? Some space for debate here. Overall a super book to read, highly recommended
December 6, 2016
Good book to read, with interesting stories and much data/over 100 graphs. I hope you will like it! :)
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews