Futurist says change will accelerate in 21st century

Glen Hiemstra says we’re in the middle of a cycle of change as or more significant than the one many of our grandparents experienced during a 30- to 40-year period near the turn of the 20th century.

Consider some of the changes and innovations that occurred from about 1890 to 1930: the emergence of the automobile, the movie camera, x-rays, the cause of malaria was discovered, electricity replaced gas illumination and the Wright brothers flew an airplane. The whole atomic age was born.

“It was an astonishing time in history,” Hiemstra said. And the highly respected futurist says we’re in the midst of just such a period of change today. He calls it a techno-economic revolution.

The way Hiemstra explains it, a new technology or technologies emerge. Smaller industries build up around that technology while the older, more established industries begin to struggle. This shift has widespread and significant impact and before you know it, the formerly small industries are the backbone of a new economy.

“My guess is that my grandparents sat around the kitchen table around 1925 or 1928 and looked at each other and said, ‘You know what? It’s unbelievable. Our lives are completely different than they were back when we were little kids.’ We’re saying that again now,” he said.

The next 20-25 years will complete the cycle with digital technology, biotechnology and nanotechnology continuing to be the driving forces behind the change, Hiemstra said. ¶

Steve Hill