At the launch party for Pro-retail 2012 held in London this January most of the independent retailers there told me they were inspired by Palmer and Harvey’s taster event for the Futurezone. The Futurezone is a multi site feature of this year’s Pro-Retail trade exhibition to be held at Telford on 24 and 25 April.
So when I saw the pre-publicity for Michio Kaku’s new book, Physics of the Future, and its promise to show what the world would be like in the year 2100, I was inspired to have a read and to report back to local retailers on what the future holds.
The book delivers on this promise but on so much more as well. If you are a business person who likes new ideas and to think about what may work this is a book for you
This paragraph from his introduction hooked me. If you like it you will love the book.
“Later, when I was in high school, I decided to follow in the footsteps of these great scientists and put some of my learning to the test. I wanted to be part of this great revolution that I knew would change the world. I decided to build an atom smasher. I asked my mother for permission to build a 2.3 million electron volt particle accelerator in the garage. She was a bit startled but gave me the okay. Then, I went to Westinghouse and Varian Associates, got 400 pounds of transformer steel, 22 miles of copper wire, and assembled a betatron accelerator in my mom’s garage.”
When he turned on the machine, he frequently blew out all of the fuses in the house. Similarly, Mr Kaku will blow your mind with his explanation of the science that underpins the world today and how the future will look.
He lists 12 Nobel laureates and more than 200 other leading scientists in the start of his book as sources for the ideas that he explores. In one version of the future, on page 198 in my book, he talks about smart materials that can be programed to reshape. So for Christmas instead of buying a new toy all you do is download new software which reshapes last year’s hottest toy into this year’s hottest toy.
More importantly, he says that computer chips are going to be so small and so cheap that they will be everywhere, replacing bar codes and putting shoppers in control about finding what they want. From about 2070 he says: “Going through a grocery store…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.”
However, he also says that computers will not take over the universe because they are no good at two things – pattern recognition and common sense. If any job needs these two skills, it will not be made redundant by technology. For local retailers this is hugely encouraging as they are two skills that you bring to bear on the assortment that you present to shoppers.
The best thing about Mr Kaku’s book is that it is filled with optimism. It tells you about the huge challenge we face to replace fossil fuel energy but he is an optimist. So too are shopkeepers. If I don’t see you in Telford, enjoy the book.
Comments
Post a Comment