Mark Stevenson travels the globe finding out what the future holds

From locations as diverse as the Maldives, the Australian Outback and a hotel in space, to subjects as diverse as nanotechnology, synthetic biology and philosophy, there's seemingly nothing off limits in Mark Stevenson's ambitious new book. Stevenson says "An Optimist's Tour of the Future" is for anyone who is curious about the future and how technology will change us, but it's not, he says, a book that will tell you how to think. Instead, it gives you tools to make up your own mind.

Jeff Glor: What inspired you to write the book?

Mark Stevenson: I wanted to write a book about the scientific horizon for everyone - because the implications of what's happening in many fields of science (and their interaction) will change the way we live and work. I think more people should know about this stuff, and I don't think it has to be hard to understand or for geeks only. Just as Freakonomics is about economics but isn't read in the main by economists An Optimist's Tour of the Future is about the scientific horizon but isn't only for scientists.

JG: What surprised you the most during the writing process?

MS: That the tools to solve our grand challenges are already here - and ready to be put to work. I didn't set out with an optimistic mindset (the book was originally pitched without a reference to optimism in the title) but I came back with the realization we really do have a choice about how the future can be - and it could be a renaissance - and I met many people who are already committed to that path. That was surprising and invigorating. I'm not saying our future will be better, but I realised it could be - and we still have everything to play for. It was such a surprise I changed the title of the book!

JG: What would you be doing if you weren't a writer?

MS: That's a tough one to answer as I already have several jobs as it is! When I'm not being a writer I run learning agency and a science communications agency, as well as dabbling in live comedy and kicking off a new project (see below). I always hope I'm doing mixture of different things because I believe innovation and inspiration comes when ideas and people collide (something that was certainly borne out in my research). I never want one job.

JG: What else are you reading right now?

MS: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein, What Technology Wants by Kevin Kelly, 13 Things That Don't Make Sense by Michael Brooks and Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky

JG: What's next for you?

MS: Something called The Age of Smart. One thing I came to realize in writing the book was that while we happily innovate in science, technology, medicine and the arts we have institutions and governments that haven't changed shape for hundreds of years. As Einstein said "The significant problems we face today cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them" - and I think we need to try new ways of organizing ourselves to address our challenges - to embrace institutional innovation. So, The Age of Smart is a kind of think-tank and action-tank for the planet that aggregates action and learning to address our grand challenges - and which we're testing out with 30 million of the world's poorest people.

For more on "An Optimist's Tour of the Future ," visit the Penguin Group website.