Lords of all things

Do you remember having multiple single purpose devices like a watch, a camera, a telephone, a calculator, a notepad and a calendar? And although it seems as though we have made huge progress since then, the developments we have seen in that field are merely the tip of the iceberg; what’s to come is even more astonishing. 

So astonishing infact, that in a few years, a thin piece of plastic film the size of a credit card will be our ID, our phone, our TV, our PC and even our bank.

Think it’s not possible? Well, think again: ever heard of graphene – carbon atoms, woven together in a net that is no thicker than one atom, conductive, flexible, featherweight and much stronger than steel? Check out what it can do in this cool episode of the "One Show".

And it doesn’t stop there: take a “sheet” of graphene, roll it into a tube and you get nanotubes that will bring about all sorts of cool things like invisibility cloaks or the space elevator. But most of all: it will become a medium to solve all of our society’s problems: a social medium in a very literal sense of the word.

Why is that? To start, think about what this technology can do for us in terms of energy and water – the two basic survival requirements for humanity – by listening to an impressive TED talk by Justin Hall-Tipping:

 

Being able to rearrange materials on the atom level, machines of all sorts will become smaller and smaller, opening a vast new realm of possibilities. Suddenly, their integration with the human body and soul seems not so far away.

This "intelligence revolution" is one of Professor Michio Kaku's favorite topics. For a thorough delve-in, read his latest book “The future of the mind” – for a quicker glance, see what he has to say in this episode of the BBC documentary “Visions of the future”:

(For those who don't want to watch all of it: take only the last 15 minutes). Taking the thought of tiny brain implants even one step further, think about what we will be able to do with the rest of our bodies: replace muscles and nerves by tubes that are virtually indestructible, craft bones from super-strong carbon or heal cancer by the touch of a hand. Sounds fantastic? I agree!

Finally, let me recommend “The Lord of all things” by Andreas Eschbach. First of all, it's a good read, very imaginative and provoking several thoughts, for example: How will it feel to drive a car and to watch yourself at the same time doing it? How many amazing things will we be able to do with the ability of dismantling and re-assembling ourselves to any shape or form and to any place in an instant? Or what implications would being able to "see" what someone thinks have for our traditional forms of communication?

But more importantly, it asks one simple-sounding, yet mind-boggling question: if anybody can do anything that anyone can ever think of and if everyone knows everything, at any given moment, everywhere, in other words: if we all have indeed mastered our minds and have become lords of all things; what’s next?

Konrad Sell

MBA class of M14, Leipzig Graduate School of Management