Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the amazing contributions of the following people, without whom this book would not have been possible.

First, a warm thank you to everyone who agreed to speak to us during our research. We were just thrilled to talk to so many dedicated and talented scientists and experts. They were generous with their time and expertise. So thank you to Ray Kurzweil, Zoltan Istvan, David Sinclair, Jeffrey Steinberg, Eric Sprague, Bertelan Mesko, Aubrey de Grey, David Bunnell, Amber Case, Billy Cohn, Kevin Warwick, Robert Murphy, and all the amazing geniuses we spoke to while researching this book.

This book was also a true family affair:

Cornelia Svela: Cornelia is Kay’s mom, an amazing artist and illustrator who agreed to provide the amazing illustrations you see in this book. That, plus undying love, support, and enthusiasm. Thanks Cornelia, we love you!

Kris Svela: Kay’s talented and hardworking journalist father provided indispensable research for several chapters in this book. He was a champion of the project all the way through. We love you, Kris!

Ian Svela: Ian is Kay’s talented brother. He not only provided volumes of research, but is a talented writer, who has an incredible future as as an author himself. He was an irreplaceable resource, who threw himself into weeks of research for this book and helped us through some of the most intensive chapters, even in the lead up to the birth of his second son. Thank you, Ian. You are incredible!

Then there are our publishing mentors:

Rick Kughen: This book came about when our Executive Editor Rick was watching a documentary on body hackers, who put magnets under the flesh of their finger tips. He has an innate ability to spot a great idea and make it into something awesome. He is funny, supportive, and inspired, and we are lucky to count him as both a friend and colleague. Thank you for your hard work, dedication, and inspiration Rick! You made this book what it is, and it wouldn’t have been possible without you.

Sam Hiyate: Our literary agent Sam is an extraordinary champion of great writing, great authors, and great books. He is a fierce advocate for book publishing and perhaps the most generous person around with his time in developing young talent. We love and admire you Sam. Thanks for everything you do.

We would be remiss, if we didn’t acknowledge the awesome team at Pearson Education including Laura Norman, Lori Lyons, and Ellora Sengupta. They are a talented bunch we are extremely fortunate to have behind us. Our names may be on the front of this book, but there would be no book without their commitment and dedication. Thank you so much team.

And a very special thanks to Daniel Beylerian, an inspired computer sciences teacher, and his awesome colleagues, teacher Rita de Melo and curriculum coordinator Randy Votary from Trenton High School in Ontario, Canada. They put together an extraordinary group of students who helped with core research for this book. Once a week for several months, teachers and students got together to research questions we posted and provided us with reams of handy information, which we included in this book. Special thanks to the hard-working students: Michelle Abbott, Kayla Egas, Alex Graham, Ryan Montminy, and Morgan Walker. Additional thanks to the students’ parents and the leadership at Prince Edward District School Board for supporting the project with their enthusiasm.

Sean would also especially like to thank his wife Eileen, who put up with his disappearing into this book for extended periods, which seriously cut into hiking time.

The authors would also like to thank each other for being so awesome. And to you the reader for getting this far down the page. Without you, we’re not much use at all.