Physics of the Future by Michio Kaku

How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Lives by the Year 2100

While over at Pitty's place one day, I noticed this book on his bookshelf and asked if I could read it. I remember during undergrad Michio Kaku coming to the U for a book event and Pitty was able to pick up a signed copy of it.

Kaku is a Physics Professor at City of New York University. He's hosted a bunch of TV shows. In this book, he says that he has interviewed/met with/ chatted to 300+ leading researchers/innovators/inventors and picked at their brains to see where those experts see their field within the next century.

Kaku talks about a range of topics from energy to medicine from a physics viewpoint. Despite not being particularly liking physics in physics in college, Kaku really had me turning the pages with the many different ideas he has about the future.

I really enjoyed reading the section on the advances in health he predicts will happen as we move toward 2100. With advances in sequencing the human genome and the price of it coming down, we will be better able to understand how our bodies are affected during disease which will lead to better ways of treating the diseases.

Kaku would often start a new chapter talking about ancient greek/roman history and relate their powers to what we are seeking to control. He mentioned that successful cultures are focusing on science/technology in oppose to religion focused cultures that think they already have things figured out. 

This book has sparked my interest in reading more science based books.
 
It feels like I'm in a constant battle between deciding how much energy I want to put towards trying to keep up with science and technology. I often question myself if I would be more happy being a mountain man somewhere leading a basic life. We are very fortunate to be in a time where it is possible to be a part of the advances that we are going through, and at the same time be able to go somewhere such as the Boundary Waters to get away from all of it. Several times Kaku brought up the "Caveman Principle" which explains that we humans are not so different from our earlier ancestors dating back 100,000 years. At our simplist form, we are still the humans that evolved around basic things such as real life human interaction, community living,  and overcoming challenges.

It definitely feels like I am out of touch with what I should be doing. Sitting here struggling to write something semi-coherent. I do this though to try and keep up with science and technology.