Physics of the Future

By. Michio Kaku

P. 450

Format: print, audio

Rating: ***1/2

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Physics of the Future was published in 2011, ten years before I read it. I have no doubt that my review is impacted by reading the book so late after the publication. The basic premises of Physics of the Future is how technology will evolve moving forward. The book gives a general overview of a topic and then predicts the near future, mid-century, and far future. Reading the book in 2021 puts me solidly in the near future.

When predicting technology advancement it seems like Kaku did not take into account human nature. Humans do not like chance, for the most part. Since technology is driven by money advancement will only proceed if humans will pay for it. As such I think that Kaku was a bit optimistic with some of his predictions. That being said, there is still ten more years in Kaku’s near future predictions. There is plenty of time for advancement.

I am not saying that every prediction that Kaku had is wrong. Many of them were quite well informed. Even if the technology has not hit the mainstream market I have seen hints of advancement in certain areas just from reading the news. Only those in the know are aware of how far we have really gotten.

My favorite section was about computer chips. Kaku talks about the silicone chip become obsolete. We will either have to find a new solution or our rate of technology advancement will grind to a halt. I found this ironic as Physics of the Future said that this will become an issue in 2020 and at the end of the year Apple introduced their new M1 chip - a chip that is revolutionizing the computer industry.

There were other areas that were eerily predictive. Kaku talked about the transference of virus - and now we are in a pandemic. He talks about this century being a cusp of where we will be as a nation. We have seen the two paths played out on our news stations at night.

I read this book to get a better idea of where technology is headed. It accomplished that. It also made me introspective. I never stop and think about what has changed in the last ten years. I haul around my iPad and access documents stored in my cloud. I pull out my phone to take pictures, play games, and even interact with software that I cannot even use on the computer I owned ten years ago. When I am bored I go and put on my VR headset and interact with people from all over the world. Just imagine where we will be in ten more years.