"Stacked Exponentials" — Predicting Massive Change in Transport & Energy

"Money may not buy happiness, but I'd rather cry in a Jaguar than on a bus." ― Françoise Sagan

"I invented nothing new. I simply assembled the discoveries of other men behind whom were centuries of work. Had I worked fifty or ten or even five years before, I would have failed. So it is with every new thing. Progress happens when all the factors that make for it are ready, and then it is inevitable. To teach that a comparatively few men are responsible for the greatest forward steps of mankind is the worst sort of nonsense." ― Henry Ford

Despite living in times of exponential change, our intuitions of the future remain mostly linear. For November's FT, we're going to try wrapping our heads around "stacked exponentials" or multiple, reinforcing, exponentially-improving technology trends, as they relate to two of the largest industries on Earth: transportation & energy. The case will be made that those trillion-dollar industries will see more change in the next 10 years, than in the last 100. Strap in and get ready for a crazy ride into the near-future... :-)