What is this book?

I remember reading a book not long ago, though I'm unsure when it was published. In it humans had spotted an alien object in another region of the galaxy, and set off to investigate. Upon touching it, the main character was somehow changed. His brain became faster, and as a result he grew smarter. At one point, he tries to communicate via a much more efficient language that he'd just made up, consisting of numerous tones and chords. The only othef thing I can recall is several people trying to destroy the earthbound end of a space elevator. Someone please say youknow what the heck I'm talking about, because this is driving me crazy.