Visioneering Technological Futures
Visioneering Technological Futures
This introductory chapter sets out the book's purpose, which is to explores how and why a select group of scientists and engineers developed their broad and expansive visions of how the future could be made radically different through as-yet-undeveloped technologies. It looks at how their visions for these technological futures were promoted, embraced, and rejected. The book focuses on two particular visions of the future and the ensembles of technologies seen as critical to achieving them. One of these is Gerard O'Neill's ideas for settlements and factories in space, technologies he saw as an alternative to terrestrial limits, lifestyles, and manufacturing. The other is K. Eric Drexler's plans for lunar factories, solar sails, and methods to mine asteroids for mineral resources.
Keywords: Gerard O'Neill, K. Eric Drexler, space colony, lunar factory, solar sails, asteroids, future technology
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