Where Is My Flying Car?

By: J. Storrs Hall

Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross

From an engineer and futurist, an impassioned account of technological stagnation since the 1970s and an imaginative blueprint for a richer, more abundant future.

The science fiction of the 1960s promised us a future remade by technological innovation: We’d vacation in geodesic domes on Mars, have meaningful conversations with computers, and drop our children off at school in flying cars. Fast-forward 60 years and we’re still stuck in traffic in gas-guzzling sedans and boarding the same types of planes we flew in over half a century ago. What happened to the future we were promised?

In Where Is My Flying Car?, J. Storrs Hall sets out to answer this deceptively simple question. What starts as an examination of the technical limitations of building flying cars evolves into an investigation of the scientific, technological, and social roots of the economic stagnation that started in the 1970s. From the failure to adopt nuclear energy and the suppression of cold fusion technology to the rise of a counterculture hostile to progress, Hall recounts how our collective ambitions for the future were derailed, with devastating consequences for global wealth creation and distribution. Hall then outlines a framework for a future powered by exponential progress - one in which we build as much in the world of atoms as we do in the world of bits, one rich in abundance and wonder.

Drawing on years of original research and personal engineering experience, Where Is My Flying Car?, originally published in 2018, is an urgent, timely analysis of technological progress over the last 50 years and a bold vision for a better future.

©2021 Stripe Press (P)2021 Stripe Press

Wow!

This book caught my attention immediately & starts off w/ a history of actual cars that flew in 1960's! It goes waaaay deep into all of the reasons surrounding current technology & although most engineering & science jargon was over my head I cannot get enough of the facts & figures that illustrate what we may have very very soon! Loved it & reccomend to Anyone!

Explains many things indeed

As an engineer, physicist and pilot myself - like the author of this book - I have also came to wonder why flying cars / roadable aircraft aren't mass produced yet. Moreover - while ground cars have evolved AND gottwn more and more affordable for the average person - personal/family airplanes like the Cessna-172,182,210 - have NOT evolved significantly since the 1960s, and have gotten many times MORE expensive, relatively to people's incomes of course. Or relatively to cars for that manner.

This book confirms some things I have guessed, and explains many things I didnt realize at all. It also mentions the problems and stagnation in other fields, such as academic research (where my father works) or the energy industry - which is indeed for decades ignoring an elephant in the room which is MODERN nuclear reactors which work safely and efficiently in many Navy vessels without any issue, but noone talks about for civilian use, and some countries are phasing out based on issues with 50 year old designs such as those in Chernobyl, 2 mile island or still used in 2011 in Fukushima. Instead of updating to modern designs. France being the only country which didnt give in and continues to actively use nuclear, but I digress...

Anyway, this book is either eye-opening, or guess-reinforcing, depending on whether you've put much thought yourself into the trajectory of technological evolution lately. Highly recommend.

you can't unlearn what it exposes you too

I knew the book's title was meant to capture the general critique of the current stagnation in science and technology; but to my delight and surprise.. the writer delved generously and masterfully into the question the book's title ask.. and many others of the same and heavier weight and impact too!

jumping between the different areas of science and technology that illustrates the issue.. the book will leave the reader exposed to a different perspective that can't be unlearned or ignored.

a delight

Techno-optimism for the win!

Paints an exciting vision for the future. Really puts stagnationists and degrowthers in their place, which is nowhere near power.

Good book, wrong title.

If you are into engineering, science, and futurism, you will like this book. There is a little bit in here about flying cars, but it's all interesting.

Frustrating!

Don't be fooled by the title, this is a book about energy. The Flying Car is a metaphor for all of the things that could have been had we been provided with the abundant, inexpensive energy that we expected in the 40's and 50's. Much of the book is concerned with the social and political structures that have lead to the "great stagnation." There are a lot of compelling discussions about what could have been had we pushed harder on nuclear energy and nano technology. In the final verdict, it's worth the price of admission, but I can't bring myself to making a ringing endorsement.

This could easily have been a great book. Unfortunately the editor (if there was one) completely failed in their duty to make sure that the arguments were coherent. As it stands, the book is an interesting collection of rambling arguments that jump from one idea to another (we got from living in 4 mile towers to Dyson stars in less than 10 minutes) that leave your head spinning. Some of this is certainly due to listening rather than reading the material and the fact that Audible failed to provide a pdf, showing the plots (this is really inexcusable). However, I've listened to a large number of books that cover deeply technical material and never have I had so many, "how could what I'm hearing now possibly relate to what I was just hearing?" moments as with this book.

This is really unfortunate. The topic is important and the general approach is fascinating. Even with the random transitions between topics, I believe that I have learned a great deal in listening to this book and I've become aware of several of my blind spots. I expect that I'll pick up the Kindle version and listen to the material at least one more time. However, I won't be recommending this to others without significant caveats.

Regulation is the problem

Hall provides valuable insights throughout on why we could have but don’t yet flying cars. Regulation is the main culprit.

More than just flying cars

Solid read that I definitely recommend. As an aerospace engineer the actual flying car piece wasn't as interesting to me as other not in the field. Total agreement on nuclear energy development and the poorly informed anti-progress forces holding it back.

Thought provoking

The authors musings are interesting and thought provoking. Yes, the book is not strictly about flying cars; it’s about the possibilities and the barriers that face many technologies. Overall, well worth my listening time.

Mixed.

I don't recommend.

I have a medical degree, so I have taken basic college level courses very peripherally related to many of the topics (physics, chemistry, etc.). His technical analysis was very interesting specifically when it comes to the expected path of human understanding and knowledge. I love his descriptions of complex physics. His explanation of rocket propulsion was phenomenal. It also provided a very interesting critique of academia and regulators.

However, virtually every argument regarding how we actually make this stuff went back to nanotechnology. I ended up skipping the parts where he tied in nanotechnology. Now, I hope nanotechnology actually provides the improvement in quality of life he is hoping for. However, I'm not holding my breath.

At the very end, he made an anti-religion reference. Dude, stay in your lane. Up until the 20th century, much of our scientific understanding came from religious institutions, until the state started pouring boatloads of money into education -- largely to undermine the Catholic Church who had the largest foothold in academia. The state of education has been gradually declining during at least the last half century, despite the investment. Maybe we'd do better at Catholic schools getting taught by nuns and priests. I wonder how many more Mendels we'd have...