Michio Kaku is an acclaimed American theoretical physicist, the co-founder of string field theory (whatever that may be; I mean, I have heard of string theory, but string field theory?). But one thing I can vouch for – Kaku is an engrossing speaker as is evident from his several videos on YouTube.
Michio Kaku’s Physics of the Future: The Inventions that will Transform Our Lives (2011) is a futuristic look at progress in science till the year 2100 AD. Kaku has a good track record of making successful predictions. That’s because he actually interviews leading scientists in the emerging fields and compiles their opinions. For this book, he has interviewed more than 300 scientists about progress in their respective fields. As he says, “I hope this book will give an insider’s perspective on what miraculous discoveries await us and provide the most authentic, authoritative look into the world of 2100.”
Kaku covers the entire gamut of science (not just physics) including IT, AI, medicine, nanotechnology, energy and space travel. At the end of the book, he provides a tantalizing glimpse into a day in January 2100.
Some of his predictions are mind-blowing. For instance, he claims that by 2100 telepathy (mind to mind communication) and telekinesis (moving object by means of the mind) will be possible. I heard that recently scientists have been able to record dreams and even upload thoughts into a rat’s brain. And as Kaku mentions, paralyzed people have been hooked up to computers and they are able to control the cursor movements through sheer thinking. So his claims may not seem far-fetched. Maybe, as he says, “By 2100, our destiny is to become like the gods we once worshipped and feared.”
Since energy is one of my specializations, I will narrate some of his predictions in that field. Kaku believes that by 2100 we would have succeeded in harnessing fusion power and that will supply us unlimited energy for our needs. We may be able to develop room temperature superconductors by then which can be used to construct roads on which our (driverless) cars would float and move without friction and at extremely high speeds. Since a lot of energy is expended in overcoming friction on roads presently, high temperature superconductors can drastically reduce energy consumption. We would also be capable of “sending hundreds of space satellites into orbit around the earth, absorbing radiation from the sun, and then beaming this energy down to earth in the form of microwave radiation.”
Kaku’s book, like his predictions, is miraculous, and I had a twinge of regret that I would not be alive to experience all these changes in 2100. We live in an inflection point in history, and, if Ray Kurzweil is right, in the proximity of a singularity. It is quite probable that we will be witness to some enormous upheavals in our way of living and thinking.
Michio Kaku’s Physics of the Future: The Inventions that will Transform Our Lives (2011) is a futuristic look at progress in science till the year 2100 AD. Kaku has a good track record of making successful predictions. That’s because he actually interviews leading scientists in the emerging fields and compiles their opinions. For this book, he has interviewed more than 300 scientists about progress in their respective fields. As he says, “I hope this book will give an insider’s perspective on what miraculous discoveries await us and provide the most authentic, authoritative look into the world of 2100.”
Kaku covers the entire gamut of science (not just physics) including IT, AI, medicine, nanotechnology, energy and space travel. At the end of the book, he provides a tantalizing glimpse into a day in January 2100.
Some of his predictions are mind-blowing. For instance, he claims that by 2100 telepathy (mind to mind communication) and telekinesis (moving object by means of the mind) will be possible. I heard that recently scientists have been able to record dreams and even upload thoughts into a rat’s brain. And as Kaku mentions, paralyzed people have been hooked up to computers and they are able to control the cursor movements through sheer thinking. So his claims may not seem far-fetched. Maybe, as he says, “By 2100, our destiny is to become like the gods we once worshipped and feared.”
Since energy is one of my specializations, I will narrate some of his predictions in that field. Kaku believes that by 2100 we would have succeeded in harnessing fusion power and that will supply us unlimited energy for our needs. We may be able to develop room temperature superconductors by then which can be used to construct roads on which our (driverless) cars would float and move without friction and at extremely high speeds. Since a lot of energy is expended in overcoming friction on roads presently, high temperature superconductors can drastically reduce energy consumption. We would also be capable of “sending hundreds of space satellites into orbit around the earth, absorbing radiation from the sun, and then beaming this energy down to earth in the form of microwave radiation.”
Kaku’s book, like his predictions, is miraculous, and I had a twinge of regret that I would not be alive to experience all these changes in 2100. We live in an inflection point in history, and, if Ray Kurzweil is right, in the proximity of a singularity. It is quite probable that we will be witness to some enormous upheavals in our way of living and thinking.
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