AN EXPLOSION OF KNOWLEDGE

The dawn of a new Renaissance has just been chronicled by the man often called “The Next Carl Sagan.” With the publication of The Parallel Bang, scientist, futurist, and author Dr. Jack Bacon reveals the underlying factors that are propelling technical and economic explosive surges that will change humankind forever. The title derives form Bacon’s case that human intellect, which houses and manipulates a parallel model of the physical universe, is exploding at rates comparable to the original growth of the physical universe. The collective human model of the universe is suddenly coalescing consistent laws and models at every scale of time, space, and energy, and that understanding is allowing unparalleled growth in human achievement.

Bacon should know, for he is an established expert on technology and social change. In his previous book, My Grandfathers’ Clock, Bacon captured the steady rise of mankind out of the dark ages into the space age, one life at a time as seen through the eyes of twenty-eight real generations of fathers and sons. In its sequel My Stepdaughter’s Watch, he forecast life in the future for the coming generation, exemplified and experienced by his stepdaughter Crystal. In The Parallel Bang, he gets to the root of why modern life seems to be accelerating faster now than it ever did in the past. He reaches the inescapable conclusion that not only does the rate seem to be growing, it actually is, and dramatically so. Technical understanding that used to take decades to double is now taking mere months, and the global society is re-forming as a result. As part of his wildly-entertaining and perceptive analysis, he takes the reader on a tour of eleven factors that are contributing to new, nonlinear growth patterns in the human experience. As he builds his case, Bacon chronicles the history of the human ascent, highlighting the key factors that brought about previous human surges, such as the acquisition of tools and fire, language, the bronze age, the Renaissance, and the industrial revolution. A crisp graphic summarizes his sobering view of the sudden surge in human growth potential.

Cosmologist, astrobiologist, educator, and Templeton Prize winner Dr. Paul Davies provides an insightful foreword—a fitting and intriguing contribution to a book that heralds humanity’s permanent leap into the cosmos.

Few people have the gift to accurately describe technical topics in such an enjoyable way—especially such a wide range of them. With The Parallel Bang, Jack Bacon conveys in print the clear and passionate perspectives and the deeply human style that have put him in such high demand as a public spokesman and educator.

Author Profile:

Dr. Jack Bacon has often been called “The Next Carl Sagan”. He has an extensive background as an educator, engineer, and worldwide motivational speaker on human spaceflight, education, energy, and other topics. A graduate of Caltech and of the University of Rochester, he is a NASA engineer working on the design, assembly, and operation of the International Space Station—the most complicated and expensive undertaking in human history. Dr. Bacon is a fellow of the Explorers Club, an AIAA distinguished lecturer (emeritus), a private motivational speaker, and a champion of numerous educational causes. He has been featured in dozens of TV and radio interviews around the word, including “Countdown to Your Future” by the Texas Education Association, shown to over 1.4 million students in 2003, and the documentary “Starman” for the New Zealand Ministry of Education in 2006. He has presented to hundreds of live audiences across the US, as well as in Australia, Canada, Continental Europe, England, Japan, New Zealand, Panama, and Russia. He is one of the world's leading authorities on mankind's technological history and on our ultimate destiny together on Earth, in orbit, and out among the stars.

The Parallel Bang is available from:

Normandy House Publishers

P.O. Box 59-1066

Houston, TX 77259-1066

Toll Free: (866) 447-4622

(www.normandyhousepublishers.com).

Note editors:

A copy of this release, digital images of the book cover and of the author, and additional information are also available at www.normandyhousepublishers.com

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