MEDIA KIT

Stories, Dice, and
Rocks That Think

About the Media Kit

Welcome to the media kit for Byron's latest book, "Stories Dice and Rocks That Think: How Humans Learned to See the Future — and Shape It."

Below you can access headshots, bio, book images, pdf media kit and pre-formatted social media assets, as well as pre-written posts for the platform of your choosing. Byron welcomes interviews, Q&A, Twitter events, or invitations to appear on podcasts/vlogs etc. He will amplify any coverage received. Please contact us through the contact button below to arrange social media events/promotions/giveaways, interviews, etc.

In Byron’s most recent book, “We Are Agora,” Byron looks at superorganisms, such as ant hills and bee colonies, and considers if humans could also be part of a superorganism. He asks, are we unknowingly parts of the inner workings of a larger being? And, if so? As our cells fail to understand us, are we also unaware of what compels our behavior? In his prior book, “Stories, Dice, and Rocks That Think,” Byron argues that our ability to imagine the future and recall the past allowed us to escape the perpetual present that all other living creatures are trapped in.

Byron has also authored “Wasted, How We Squander Time, Money, and Natural Resources and What We Can Do About It,” “The Fourth Age: How Technology and the Internet Will End Ignorance, Disease, Hunger, Poverty, and War,” and “Infinite Progress, How the Internet and Technology Will End Ignorance, Disease, Poverty, Hunger, and War.”

I

Acheulean Hand Ax

This is a million-year-old tool. Not a replica. This is an actual million-year-old tool. It was made by a creature called Homo Erectus, and yet Erectus didn’t learn how to make it, but was born knowing how to make it, the way a bird knows how to build its own specific nest. Why does this matter?

See Page 8 of the Book

II

Galton Board

This is a Galton board. Invented by Sir Francis Galton in 1876, the tiny ball bearings in this board fall randomly, and yet each time you flip it, they form the same shape. Does this demonstrate an underlying order in randomness?

See Page 207 of the Book

III

1950s Transistor

This is an early transistor from the 1950s. Your smartphone has billions of these crammed into the area the size of a postage stamp, performing trillions of computations a second. These transistors are silicon based, meaning they are basically rocks—but special rocks that can think. Or can they?

See Page 245 of the Book

Stories, Dice, and Rocks That Think

How Humans Learned to See the Future -- and Shape It

Summary

Asking what makes the human mind so unique? And how did we get this way? "Stories, Dice, and Rocks That Think" explores the three leaps in our history that made us who we are—and will change how we think about our future.

Thoughtful, witty, and compulsively readable, Reese unravels our history as an intelligent species in three acts: Act I: Ancient humans undergo “the awakening,” developing the cognitive ability to mentally time-travel using language Act II: In 17th century France, the mathematical framework known as ‘probability theory’ is born—a science for seeing into the future that we used to build the modern world Act III: Beginning with the invention of the computer chip, humanity creates machines to gaze into the future with even more precision, overcoming the limits of our brains. A fresh new look at the history and destiny of humanity, readers will come away from “Stories, Dice, and Rocks That Think” with a new understanding of what they are—not just another animal, but a creature with a mastery of time itself.

PAGES

9781637741344

ISBN No.

BenBella

PUBLISHER

Social Media Assets

Here you can view and then (via dropbox) download social media assets, including images, video (formatted for Instagram/Facebook/TikTok/Twitter), as well as posts pre-written for the platform of your choice.

Hashtags: #SDRTT #cities #superorganisms #hivemind #nonfiction #bookclub #stories #humanity #history #evolution #homoerectus #anthropology #cellularmemory #epigenetics #DNA #consciousness #language #tech #AI #futurist #bigdata #ai #storiesdicerocks #tech

IMAGES

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VIDEOS

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PRE-WRITTEN POSTS

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BOOK ASSETS

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Biography Byron

With 25 years as a successful tech entrepreneur, Byron Reese is uniquely suited to write and speak on the transformative effect of technology on the workplace and society at large.

He and his work have been featured in hundreds of news outlets, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Entrepreneur Magazine, USA Today, Reader’s Digest, NPR, and the LA Times Magazine. Byron holds numerous patents and has started and sold multiple companies, including two NASDAQ IPOs. Byron’s book explores the intersection of technology, history and technology, and how that intersection has defined our past and continues to influence our tomorrows.

In his latest book “Stories, Dice, and Rocks That Think,” Byron argues that our ability to imagine the future and recall the past allowed us to escape the perpetual present that all other living creatures are trapped in. Byron has also authored "Wasted, How We Squander Time, Money, and Natural Resources and What We Can Do About It'," "The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers and the Future of Humanity," and "Infinite Progress, How the Internet and Technology Will End Ignorance, Disease, Poverty, Hunger, and War."

In Byron’s upcoming book, "We Are Agora," Byron looks at superorganisms, such as ant hills and bee colonies, and considers if humans could also be part of a superorganism. He asks, are we unknowingly parts of the inner workings of a larger being? And, if so? As our cells fail to understand us, are we also unaware of what compels our behavior?

When not writing, Byron delights audiences around the world, and has been invited to share his reasoned optimism and vivid and energetic presentations on the future with audiences on every continent but Antartica (coming January 2024). Known as the “Future of” guy, Byron has spoken on the future of A.I., the future of work, the future of banking, the future of education, the future of the planet, the future of agriculture, the future of finance, and the list goes on.

Bloomberg Businessweek credits Byron with having “quietly pioneered a new breed of media company.” The Financial Times of London reported that he “is typical of the new wave of internet entrepreneurs out to turn the economics of the media industry on its head.”