Unnatural Selection: Why the Geeks Will Inherit the Earth

Urging Darwin's theory of evolution into the nihilistic, technological obsessed 21st century, Roeder presents the prototype %E2%80%98Homo Geektus' as the face of professional success in the digital age. He argues that once pitiable nerds with shy, studious personalities are the new ideal, conditioned to thrive in a cyber culture. The author takes a tone of sarcastic glee yet builds his case with convincing data from various evolutionary ages. The chapter called "The Gift of Weakness" sets the intellectual table, depicting Man's fight for survival in the "technological Greenhouse" instead of a cave as we shift from the nature-based "Holocene" age to the "Unnatural Selection" favoring know-how over physical aggression. Roeder emphasizes the "mutual interaction between the environment and nature," in this case, an invisible but powerful data infrastructures dominated by outsiders whose mental strength allows them to create/alter alternative informational and sensory realities "without%E2%80%A6asking anyone's permission." Roeder offers a thoughtful, contemplative treatise told with wit and wisdom. (Oct.)