Unnatural Selection: Why the Geeks Will Inherit the EarthHardcover, 1 October 2014

Unnatural Selection is the first book to examine the rise of the technocentric being--or geek--who personifies a distinct new phase in human evolution. People considered geeks often have behavioral or genetic traits that were previously considered detrimental. But the new environment of the Anthropocene period--the Age of Man--has created a kind of digital greenhouse that actually favors their traits, enabling many non-neurotypical people to bloom. They resonate with the technological Zeitgeist in a way that turns their weaknesses into strengths. Think of Mark Zuckerberg versus the towering, Olympics-bound Winklevoss twins in the movie Social Network.

Roeder suggests that the rise of the geek is not so much the product of Darwinian natural selection as of man-made--or unnatural--selection. He explains why geeks have become so phenomenally successful in such a short time and why the process will further accelerate, driven by breakthroughs in genetic engineering, neuropharmacology, and artificial intelligence. His book offers a fascinating synthesis of the latest trends in these fields and predicts a twenty-first century cognitive arms race in which new technology will enable everyone to become more intelligent and geek-like.