Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100

Hence, each point of skin on a person’s face has to be described by a complex mathematical function, which is a real headache for a computer programmer.
    I remarked that this sounded very much like high-energy physics, my specialty. In our atom smashers, we create a powerful beam of protons that slams into a target, creating a shower of debris that scatters in all directions. We then introduce a mathematical function (called the form factor) that describes each particle.
    Half jokingly, I asked if there was a relationship between the human face and high-energy particle physics? Yes, he replied. Computer animators use the same formalism used in high-energy physics to create the faces you see on the movie screen! I never realized that the arcane formulae that we theoretical physicists use may one day crack the problem of modeling the human face. So the fact that we can recognize the human face is similar to the way we physicists analyze subatomic particles!

FAR FUTURE (2070 TO 2010)
    IMPACT ON CAPITALISM
    These new technologies that we have been discussing in this book are so powerful that, by the end of the century, they are bound to have an impact on capitalism itself. The laws of supply and demand are the same, but the rise of science and technology has modified Adam Smith’s capitalism in many ways, from the way that goods are distributed to the nature of wealth itself. Some of the more immediate ways in which capitalism has been affected are as follows:
     
    • Perfect capitalism
The capitalism of Adam Smith is based on the laws of supply and demand: prices are set when the supply for any good matches the demand. If an object is scarce and in demand, then its price rises. But the consumer and producer have only partial, imperfect understanding of supply and demand, and hence prices can vary widely from place to place. So the capitalism of Adam Smith was imperfect. But this will gradually change in the future.
      “Perfect capitalism” is when the producer and the consumer have infinite knowledge of the market, so that prices are perfectly determined. For example, in the future, consumers will scan the Internet via their contact lenses and have infinite knowledge of all comparative prices and performances. Already, one can scan the Internet to find the best airline fares. This will eventually apply to all products sold in the world. Whether through eyeglasses, wall screens, or cell phones, consumers will know everything abouta product. Going through a grocery store, for example, you will scan the various products on display and, via the Internet in your contact lens, immediately evaluate if the product is a bargain or not. The advantage shifts to the consumers, because they will instantly know everything about a product—its history, its performance record, its price relative to others, and its strengths and liabilities.
      The producer also has tricks up his sleeve, such as using data mining to understand the wants and needs of the consumer, and scanning the Internet for commodity prices. This removes much of the guesswork in setting prices. But in the main, it is the consumer who has the advantage, who instantly has comparative knowledge of any product, and who demands the cheapest price. The producer must then react to the constantly changing demands of the consumer.
    • Mass production to mass customization
In the present system, goods are created by mass production. Henry Ford once famously said that the consumer could have the Model T in any color, as long as it’s black. Mass production drastically lowered prices, replacing the inefficient, older system of guilds and handcrafted goods. The computer revolution will change all this.
      Today, if a customer sees a dress of the perfect style and color but the wrong size, then there is no sale. But in the future, our precise 3-D measurements will be stored in our credit card or wallet. If a dress or other garment is the wrong size, you will e-mail your measurements to the factory and have it immediately produce one in the right size. In the future, everything will fit.
      Mass customization today is impractical, since it is too costly to create a new product just for one consumer. But when everyone is hooked to the Internet, including the factory, custom-made objects can be manufactured at the same price as mass-produced items.
    • Mass technology as a utility
When technologies become widely dispersed, such as