Human 2.0: A Celebration of Human Bionics

This is a remarkable book! It clearly informs the reader about the history of prostheses, the scientific engineering around implants, and future possibilities in the world of bionics.

Professor Hugh Herr, Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at MIT and co-director of the K. Lisa Yang Center for Bionics, writes the Foreword and explains how technology is now looking at ways to go beyond what the human body is normally capable of achieving.

In this volume you can learn about bionic limbs and implantable devices with real life stories to illustrate how technological advances change people’s lives for the better. It is interesting to find out about the Paralympics and how they have developed over the years.

The final pages of the book look to the coming decades and the rise of cyborgs. Scientists can now create limbs and body parts, connecting them with the human brain. Fascinating progress is being made and the following quote from Albert Einstein in 1931 is used: ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.’ p.61.

Patrick Kane was the youngest person to be given a bionic arm and he is a notable voice on the subject of disability and how this world is changing. He has written a fascinating account of this topic which is enlightening for the reader. The attractive illustrations work well with the text, and I am sure young and old readers alike will enjoy this title. It will likely inspire young people to follow a career in science and engineering. A helpful timeline at the back of the book shows just how far humans have reached already; Kane indicates that we could have a long way further to go.