So in a way we’ve been dealing with this all of our lives. Books, then radio, movies, TV, the Web and smart phones are all manifestations of a changing relationship between our minds and our bodies.
And so are indoor plumbing, paved roads, airports, the electrical grid and central air conditioning. Each technological advancement allows us to change the way we use our bodies, both individually and collectively, to advance the goals of our minds.
And in each case, the “plumbing” is essential to whatever is enabled on top of it. Automobiles would be little more than a curiosity without both the system of roads and highways and the system of turning crude oil into gas at the pump.
Similarly, Atlanta Georgia could not be the economic powerhouse it is today without its downtown office buildings. And those were possible only after the introduction of central air conditioning.
The coming decade of wearables — based on an increased reliance on computation in the Cloud combined with a steady increase in wireless bandwidth — will follow a similar pattern. If you want to talk about what is going to grow in the Petri dish, you need to talk about the agar that will allow it to grow.