Vision Review - Mind and machine Will developments in neuroscience turn us into cyborgs? - Vision Independent Financial Planning
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Vision
Review
Edition 16
Mind and
machine
Will developments in
neuroscience turn us
into cyborgs?
Contents — Edition 16
14
From
waist to
waste?
4
18 Cracking the
neural code
Transforming
transactions
Contents
4 Mind and machine 26 Mind your language
How neuroscience could supercharge The battle over political correctness
our brains
30 The road to Tokyo — part II Images: Lukamatocha/Shutterstock, PhiveT/Alamy, Cultura Creative (RF)/Alamy,
10 Equinomics An Olympic dream lives on
— racing uncertainty
The economics of racehorse breeding 32 For love and money
The benefits of marriage and civil
14 The fast fashion rebellion partnerships
Cover illustration: ANDRZEJ/Science Photo Library
In search of sustainable chic 34 How to grow carats
Islandstock/Alamy, Jeff Eden/RBG Kew
18 On the starting block The dazzle of lab-produced diamonds
A simple explanation of blockchain 36 Q&A with Kevin Morrison
22 Allergic to life The changing face of financial services
Why are allergies on the rise? 40 Seeds of our protection
Preserving our bio-heritage
2 Vision Review www.visionifp.co.uk
Welcome
22
Sensitivity Welcome
or fad?
to the winter edition
of Vision Review
A
mid the radical innovation that has come to define the
fourth industrial revolution, the centuries-old quest to
understand how our minds work appears to be entering
a new phase. Advances in neuroscience are producing remarkable
breakthroughs in the treatment of mental and physical conditions,
as illustrated by the recent story of a paralysed man who is
learning to walk again with the help of a ‘brain-computer interface’.
So are we really within touching distance of what has been called
science’s final frontier? And, if we are, what might await us beyond
it? With efforts to map the mind increasingly linked with the rise
of artificial intelligence (AI), are we moving inexorably towards the
melding of human and machine? Does our only hope of keeping
40 pace with AI lie in somehow making it a part of us? In this edition
of Vision Review we consider the past, present and likely future of
attempts to grasp the workings — and the potential — of the brain.
Flower
power Having explored the secrets of the nervous system, we also
examine the puzzles of the immune system. Allergies were
regarded as medical curiosities throughout much of history, but
today they represent a significant and growing problem. We
look at the likely causes of the modern-day explosion in allergic
reactions — and the possible cures.
Other topics in this edition include the sustainability-inspired
rebellion against ‘fast fashion’, the tech phenomenon that is
blockchain and the changing nature and impact of political
correctness. We also discuss the economics of racehorse breeding,
the emergence of laboratory-grown diamonds, the financial
benefits of marriage and civil partnerships and the drive to protect
Editor our bio-heritage.
Jenifer Hall
Network Support Finally and hot off the press, I am delighted to announce that
Manager Vision recently attended the prestigious Financial Innovation
Awards ceremony in London, where we were victorious in the
If you have any comments on this Customer Service/Service Team of the Year category. This is a
publication or suggestions for topics that fantastic endorsement of our wonderful head office team. I
you would like to see discussed in the future, thank you for your loyalty and support, as always.
please let me know.
jeniferhall@visionifp.co.uk I hope you enjoy the magazine — and please remember that we
always value your feedback.
Connect with Vision
Paul Sweaton
in Vision Independent
Financial Planning Ltd Chief Executive of Vision
www.visionifp.co.uk Vision Review 3
Mind and machine
Mind and
machine
Cutting-edge efforts to map the
human mind are opening up
extraordinary possibilities, including
novel ways of tackling disease,
interacting with machines and even
enhancing our intelligence. How did
we get to this stage? Where might
we go from here? And should we be
excited or worried — or both?
Simon Dewar
4 Vision Review www.visionifp.co.uk
Mind and machine
This mind-controlled
Image: CEA/Clinatec/Juliette Treillet
exoskeleton suit has enabled
a paralysed 30-year-old
Frenchman — named only as
Thibault — to walk again,
regaining control of all four of
his limbs. Thibault said of his
initial steps: “It was like being
the first man on the Moon.”
www.visionifp.co.uk Vision Review 5
Mind and machine
G
reat thinkers have wrestled with
the complexities of the human
mind for thousands of years.
From Socrates to Descartes, from Darwin
to Crick, philosophers and scientists
alike have tried to unravel its workings
and fathom its relationship with the
body and beyond. What has changed
over time is that the focus has steadily
shifted away from its evolution and
towards questions around how it
actually functions and is structured.
The answers lie in neurons. These are the
basic units of our nervous systems and
the fundamental building blocks of
intelligence. An adult brain contains more
than 85 billion of them, each with around
10,000 connections to other such cells.
Sensory neurons react to stimuli such Researchers at Ulster University advances, not least since the turn of
as sound, light and touch, sending are mapping the mind to measure the millennium, propelling
brain activity and support
signals to the brain or the spinal cord. neuroscience into an age in which what
research on better treatment of
Motor neurons receive these signals, brain tumours and epilepsy. once seemed inconceivable might soon
controlling our every movement — be within grasp.
from muscle contractions to glandular
output. Trillions of minute junctions,
“ As our comprehension Crucially, as our comprehension of the
known as synapses, allow the signals of the nervous system nervous system flourishes, cutting-edge
to pass from one neuron to another in thinking is encompassing not just how
a process that is partly chemical and
flourishes, cutting-edge the mind operates but why it sometimes
partly electrical. thinking is encompassing fails — and, by extension, how it might
be repaired or even enhanced. As a
The latter attribute has attracted scientific
not just how the mind result, the treatment of numerous
attention ever since Luigi Galvani, an operates but how it might medical conditions increasingly looks
18th-century physicist and biologist, set to involve interaction between the
found that the legs of dead frogs twitched
be repaired or even human brain and machines.
when struck by a spark. Galvani posited enhanced.”
that this was due to an electrical fluid This has actually already been happening
carried to the muscles by the nerves. His treatments and advances in human for longer than most of us might guess
discovery gave us ‘galvanism’, which in capabilities. Some would say it also — as evidenced by cochlear implants,
turn gave us ‘galvanise’ — meaning to opens a Pandora’s Box. which for decades have helped tackle
shock or excite something into action. hearing problems by converting sounds
Innovations and interfaces into electrical signals that are then sent
The second half of the 20th century to the brain. Although there is no direct
saw attempts to understand neurons The quest to map the mind has always interaction with neural tissue, such
become ever more precise, diverse and drawn on achievements in other fields, apparatus might be regarded as a
molecular. Today scientists are getting among them anatomy, physiology, primitive example of what has come to be
closer not just to decoding the mathematical modelling and, more termed a brain-computer interface (BCI).
electrochemical signals in the brain but recently, optogenetics, cognitive
to composing and delivering them. psychology and computing. Many of Similarly, one of the most common
This opens doors to some incredible these arenas have witnessed substantive forms of surgery for Parkinson’s disease,
6 Vision Review www.visionifp.co.uk
Mind and machine
deep-brain stimulation (DBS), was first “ Thanks to her newfound Brown professor of neuroscience John
approved in 1997. Extremely fine wires Donoghue said in 2006, “we can tap
tipped with electrodes are implanted ability to communicate into it.”
in the brain via extensions tunnelled with a robotic arm, one
under the skin behind the ear; they are Beyond BCIs
then linked to a pulse generator to woman was able to take
deliver high-frequency stimulation her first-ever sip of coffee The phrase ‘brain-computer interface’
that alters some of the signals that originally surfaced in the academic
cause the condition’s movement-related without aid from a literature in the 1970s, when the
symptoms. Although not a cure, this caregiver.” University of California, Los Angeles,
approach is more effective than carried out a study partially funded by
medication in many cases. arm, one woman was able to take the US government’s Defense Advanced
her first sip of coffee without aid from Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
At Brown University, Rhode Island, a caregiver since the stroke that had Today the notion of a BCI is becoming
researchers developed BrainGate, a BCI paralysed her 15 years earlier. an ever more sophisticated reality, with
that uses a small array of electrodes household-name tech giants responsible
implanted in the brain’s motor cortex. Maybe most famously, Matthew Nagle, for some of the most significant
These detect the neurons that signal the first person to receive an implant, breakthroughs.
planned motion in the hands or arms: was in effect able to play bat-and-ball
the signals are communicated through computer game Pong with his mind Microsoft is among those at the forefront.
wires poking out of the skull, and a after mastering the required moves in In 2018 it launched its AI for Accessibility
computer decodes them and translates just four days. “If your brain can do it,” initiative, a five-year programme
them into movements. intended to accelerate the creation of
artificial intelligence solutions that could
Since 2004 BrainGate has assisted A paralysed woman is filmed benefit more than a billion people with
taking a sip of coffee with the
more than a dozen people with help of a robotic arm. She is
disabilities. Around $25 million in
paralysis. Thanks to her newfound sending signals with her mind funding is at present being made available
ability to communicate with a robotic using a brain-computer interface. to universities, non-governmental
organisations and inventors, with larger
investments promised for the scaling up
of would-be game-changing innovations.
And then there is Elon Musk, of Tesla
fame, whose Neuralink Corporation is
pioneering a new kind of BCI that aims
to embed flexible “threads” in the brain
and use them to transmit information
Images: Niall Carson/PA Archive/PA Images, dpa picture alliance archive/Alamy
to a wireless receiver worn as an
earpiece. The threads would be thinner
than a human hair; they would also be
implanted by a robot. One goal, as with
BrainGate, is to enable people with
paralysis to communicate with electronic
devices at a higher level.
During a presentation in July 2019,
teasing the supposedly top-secret
project’s results to date, Musk reportedly
surprised even his own colleagues when
he announced: “A monkey has been able
to control a computer with its brain.”
www.visionifp.co.uk Vision Review 7
Mind and machine
Despite insisting that his speech was not
a vehicle for hype, he elicited further and
more widespread astonishment when
he declared: “We hope to have this in a
human patient by the end of next year.”
Musk himself subsequently stressed
that Neuralink would not work towards
“taking over people’s brains”. Rather, he
said, the principal objective would be
to “achieve a symbiosis with artificial
intelligence”.
Yet this is where the line between
‘progress’ and ‘dystopia’ tends to
become blurred. Perhaps few people
would object to BCIs being used to
ameliorate medical conditions or cure
diseases; but if this should lead to the
ever-greater fusion of human and
machine, as critics fear and some
experts fully expect, then what might
the future hold?
Things to come?
Much of the research on This manner of vision is by no means
Two years ago, appearing before the brain-computer interfaces and
novel. Irving John Good, a contemporary
hi-tech prosthetics has been
World Government Summit in Dubai, funded by the military — to help of fellow codebreaker and computer
Musk warned that humans could be restore the lives of combat scientist Alan Turing at Bletchley Park
rendered useless in an era of ubiquitous casualties. But it may one day be during the Second World War, wrote in
AI. Machines would be making perfect used to enhance the capabilities 1965: “The first ultra-intelligent
of soldiers in the battlefield.
sense of data at a rate of more than a machine is the last invention that man
trillion bits per second, he said, while need ever make, provided that the
the flesh-and-bones stragglers of Homo machine is docile enough to tell us how
sapiens would still be laboriously tapping to keep it under control.”
messages into their smartphones. The
best course of action, he asserted, would Futurist Ray Kurzweil coined the term
be to merge the two. ‘the singularity’ to describe the moment
when machines become infinitely more
“We’re already cyborgs,” Musk said. “Your intelligent than humans. The World
phone and your computer are extensions Economic Forum has officially recognised
of you. But the interface is through finger “ If this should lead to “the singularity” as one of the most
movements or speech, which are very pressing issues around AI.
slow.” He ventured that a “high-
the ever-greater fusion
bandwidth interface to the brain” might of human and machine, Kurzweil has predicted that we will
“solve the control problem and the necessarily meld with computers and
usefulness problem”. If we do not accept
as critics fear and some that our thoughts, like so much data
as much, he claimed, the proliferation experts fully expect, today, will be stored in the cloud. This
of an AI “smarter than the smartest raises a host of questions and concerns.
human on Earth” could end life as we
then what might the Will our perceptions, emotions, decisions
know it. future hold?” and memories remain our own in those
8 Vision Review www.visionifp.co.uk
Mind and machine
“ Is the next logical — or Are we already cyborgs? helped finance the 1970s research on
brain-computer interfaces, remains at
even inevitable — step the forefront of neuroscience research.
A technology that advances the
really to be able to mind-machine relationship
The organisation was created in response
to the Soviets’ launch of Sputnik 1 in
download the sum total of but falls short of brain-computer
1957. Its aim is to prevent the US
interfaces is biohacking. In
humanity's knowledge Sweden, where it has been
receiving technological surprises ever
again — and to create some of its own.
into our brains?” available since 2015, around
3,000 people have undergone
Former DARPA director Arati Prabhakar
the necessary procedure —
has always been enthusiastic about the
usually a simple injection of a
circumstances? Might they be ‘hackable’ potential of this branch of science but
microchip into the hand.
or serve as minuscule components of readily and repeatedly addressed the
one monolithic, shared system? ethical challenges throughout her time
Supporters enjoy the
in post.
convenience that biohacking
Information can go both ways. We can bring. For instance, they can
already access the sum total of “In a possible future,” she says, “neural
use the data contained on a chip
humanity’s knowledge via our phones, technology will enable a soldier to focus
to open doors, register train
tablets and laptops, so is the next logical under fire by turning his heart rate
tickets or make payments.
— or even inevitable — step really to be down, or to sense an odourless biological
able to download it all into our brains? threat, or to directly and intuitively
Yet problems around security
Is this is our sole hope of keeping pace direct a whole bevy of military systems
persist. As well as concerns
with machines? Would we not then that could keep an adversary at bay. In
over who should be allowed to
become machines ourselves? that future will the military ban neural
share personal information
enhancement, the way we ban
stored in this way, there is the
“It’s going to be all mixed up,” says performance-enhancing steroids today?
grisly prospect of hands being
Kurzweil. “There’s not going to be a Or, conversely, will neural enhancement
sliced open — or off — to obtain
clear distinction between a human become a condition of military service?
a potentially valuable source of
and a machine.” data. There are also fears that
“Neural technologies could enable
such implants could lead to
There is also a military dimension to people across society to overcome
infections or to reactions in an
this. DARPA, the organisation that depression, to boost our physical
individual’s immune system.
health, to learn complex tasks in a
flash… In that future will society think
about neurotechnology the way we
think about braces or even laser eye
surgery? Or is there a time when we
can begin to imagine a disturbing gap
between the neural enhancement haves
and have-nots?”
We have not yet completely cracked
Images: John Hopkins Uni/DARPA, David Gray/Reuters
the neural code, which very probably
does represent science’s final frontier.
As we get closer, though, Prabhakar’s
words will come to have greater
significance. She says: “With these big
possibilities come some big choices. In
the choices we make we will reveal
who we are and who we will become
as human beings.”
www.visionifp.co.uk Vision Review 9
Equinomics — racing uncertainty 10 Vision Review www.visionifp.co.uk
Equinomics — racing uncertainty
Equinomics
— racing
uncertainty
Horseracing is worth billions of pounds to
the British economy — and is particularly
important to rural communities. But this is a
high-cost sport that is facing many hurdles.
As the going gets tougher, can the industry
around it survive?
Jonathan Hill
D
uring an unbeaten career, the racehorse Frankel won
almost £3 million in prize money — a great return for
his owners, whose initial outlay on him was several
hundred thousand euros. But the earnings do not stop when
a great horse leaves the winners’ enclosure for the last time.
Millions more can be earned in stud fees.
Frankel’s father, Galileo, was himself a champion thoroughbred.
He is rumoured to command stud fees in the region of
€600,000. Frankel eclipsed his father’s racing records and is
off to a promising start as a stud. During their debut season
in 2016, his progeny achieved a strike rate of 40% in terms of
winners relative to runners. Scarcely surprising, then, that his
owners already charge stud fees of £175,000. Frankel
covered almost 200 mares in 2017. This horse is a cash cow!
Stable economy
The prestigious Godolphin stable,
whose UK base is near Newmarket, Numbers like this would suggest that the racing industry is
was founded by the Ruler of Dubai. hugely profitable. It is certainly important to our economy.
It has produced hundreds of winners. A report for The Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association by
Here one of its thoroughbreds takes accountants PwC in September 2018 estimated that horseracing
part in a training session.
contributes over £3.5 billion annually to the UK economy and
Image: Vince Caligiuri/Stringer/GettyImages supports over 85,000 jobs.
www.visionifp.co.uk Vision Review 11Equinomics — racing uncertainty
This, however, is an expensive sport.
The average annual cost of owning and
running a flat racehorse is close to
£23,000. Around three-quarters of this is
spent on training fees and much of the
rest on racing costs (such as entry prices,
travel expenditure and jockey fees).
The Balding family are one of Britain’s
most successful racehorse trainers.
Emma Balding says: “This is a labour-
intensive industry, and no amount of
technology will change that —
computers can't muck out horses!”
Few can afford to participate seriously.
The Queen is Britain’s best-known
racehorse owner. Perhaps the next most
famous is Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, who founded
the Godolphin thoroughbred operation
and whose European headquarters are
near Newmarket. His horses have won
5,000 races; last year alone they won brought in to help tackle gambling
30 Grade I events — the highest level of addiction, has meant a big drop in
Race numbers bookmaker earnings. William Hill has
thoroughbred and standardbred stakes
races — including the Epsom Derby and already announced it is to close around
the Melbourne Cup.
3,318 700 of its licensed betting shops.
But a growing number of the ‘ordinarily
breeders Bad results have also hit bookmakers’
wealthy’ are dabbling in the sport for fun in the UK profits this year. This feeds through to
— often in syndicates, whose members the racing industry, which receives a levy
share ownership of a horse. For many on those profits. It is expected to receive
of them the sport is a hobby rather than £12,000 £17 million less than in 2018. And this
a business. Balding, whose son, Andrew, estimated loss is before the effect of the new gambling
trains as many as 190 horses at any one made on an restrictions has fed through to profits.
time at their stables at Kingsclere, near average filly
Newbury, says: “If you rolled back 50 sold at sales This is already leading to cuts in prize
years you would find most owners were money and creating a vicious circle. The
wealthy landowners. Breeding and racing average ‘cost per run’ is approximately
horses was their leisure and pleasure. 66% £3,000 for a flat racehorse and £3,500
Today there are more syndicates within of breeding for a jumps horse. With prize money in
the breeding industry and owning side some races falling below £3,000,
operators
of it. These enable many more people owners are questioning whether it is
to participate in the sport and to get
unprofitable worth running their horses. It means
more out of it.” field sizes are dropping, which makes
races less exciting to watch.
Higher hurdles 24%
of the world’s All this is happening against a backdrop
As with owners, it is tough for trainers top 100 races of already-falling attendances. A recent
and breeders to make a profit. And it is are hosted in in-depth study by a team at Liverpool
getting tougher. A new law introduced Britain University (which offers an MBA in
in April limited the maximum stake on Thoroughbred Horseracing Industries)
fixed-odds betting terminals in betting Source: Report for The Thoroughbred Breeders’
shows that, though numbers for events
shops from £100 to £2. The move, Association by PwC, September 2018 like the Cheltenham Festival and Royal
12 Vision Review www.visionifp.co.ukEquinomics — racing uncertainty
claims that around 200 horses die on
racecourses each year. Its members want
an end to all commercial racing. Its
criticisms are hitting home, and there is
a growing drive within the industry to
tackle welfare issues.
Dr Madeleine Campbell, from the Royal
Veterinary College, told delegates at this
year’s Horseracing Industry Conference
in Liverpool that ignoring critical public
opinion could ultimately lead to the
sport’s abolition. She said more could
be done to improve horseracing’s image
— including banning the use of whips to
encourage the horse to run faster. But
she said: "Although racing does involve
some harm to animals, it is outweighed
by the benefits of racing — not only to
humans but to animals.”
Balding says: “The vast majority of us
care desperately for our horses, and the
Ascot held up, attendances at many jumps Above left: A bay filly is paraded during horses love the action. They are as
meetings were more than 25% lower a sale at Tattersalls, the leading competitive as the humans on them. I’ve
auctioneer of racehorses in Britain and
in 2018 compared to 2002. In part this Ireland. The Newmarket-based company seen some really quite average horses
is because of ubiquitous coverage of sold a record 331 million guineas’ worth win races because they want to. They
race events on specialist TV channels. of bloodstock in 2017. are athletes and they train like athletes.
Above right: Tom Queally rides Frankel You can say a horse doesn’t have a choice
Heavy going to victory in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes about this, but if a horse doesn’t want to
at Ascot in 2011. Frankel won more race you really can’t make it.”
Two-thirds of breeding operators were than £3 million in prize money during an
unbeaten career that spanned 14 races.
unprofitable in 2018. The average Balding is a trustee of Retraining of
return on capital in the industry is just Racehorses, a charity that promotes the
1-3%. It is perhaps not surprising that welfare of racehorses when they retire
nearly one in 10 breeders has left the from the track. She says: “Many of them
industry in the past five years.
“ Two-thirds of breeding don't enjoy retirement — they miss the
operators were unprofitable buzz of the track, so they often go on to
Balding, who also runs a stud farm, says: eventing, polo, dressage and endurance
“It’s very tough. If you’re not having any
in 2018. The average return riding. They can make a fantastic buy for
Images: Dan Kitwood/Staff/GettyImages, Carl Court/Stringer/GettyImages, iStock
success, it’s impossible. One good sale on capital in the industry is an experienced horse lover, but you have
on our stud can bankroll the business to learn to look after a thoroughbred.
for a couple of years, but one good sale
just 1-3%.” They do everything a bit quicker than
might come along every five years. So in purposes between the UK, Ireland and your plodding pony.”
between you have to be canny. The thing France, and these may face additional
that’s a killer is when you're left with a checks. In addition, nearly half of British Horseracing has never faced so many
horse that doesn’t make a sale because it stud farms employ at least one EEA challenges, but it remains the second
isn’t conventionally good-looking in member of staff (11% of the UK breeding most attended sport in the UK after
the ring. You have to train it for another workforce), who often hold specialist football. The odds are not stacked
year to prove its merits, and that adds skills that cannot be easily replaced. against it, but its future is uncertain.
£30,000 to the bill.” One thing is clear, though — for those
Animal rights drawn to racehorse ownership by the
Brexit, too, could prove a major hurdle. dream of unearthing a new Frankel, a
There are over 26,000 free movements Added to all this is another threat — from stable investment is sometimes not
of horses for racing, breeding and sales animal rights campaigners. Animal Aid found in a stable.
www.visionifp.co.uk Vision Review 13The fast fashion rebellion The fast fashion rebellion Clothes retailers have a vested interest in us regularly buying new clothing to stay in tune with a fashion cycle that they spin ever quicker. But it seems that a growing number of us are rebelling. Kate Elliot 14 Vision Review www.visionifp.co.uk
The fast fashion rebellion
Image: Photgraphee.eu/Shutterstock
www.visionifp.co.uk Vision Review 15The fast fashion rebellion
A
merican model Lauren Hutton and have been linked to global plastic As one might expect, these shirts are
once said: “Fashion is what you’re pollution. For example, a single wash more expensive than those from discount
offered four times a year by can release 700,000 microfibres, many brands. And there lies the challenge.
designers. Style is what you choose.” For of which end up in the sea, turning our Affordability remains a priority for many
many years now, new fashions have been oceans into what one marine scientist consumers, forcing them to choose
offered to us on an almost weekly basis. refers to as “a big plastic soup”. between their consciences and their
wallets.
Spanish store Zara pioneered ‘fast Disposal is largely inefficient. Around
fashion’ — it can design, produce and 50 trucks’ worth of used clothing ends The solution may lie in widespread
display a garment in its stores worldwide up in landfill every day in the UK, with adoption of better technology. Worn
in just 15 days. The fact that those environmental charity WRAP estimating Again Technologies argues that there
garments may be on the rack for only a that we dispose of £140 million of are so many non-reusable textiles and
couple of weeks pressures consumers clothes in this way each year. Historically plastic bottles ‘above ground’ that we
to buy before stock disappears. less than 1% of disposed clothing has do not need more “new” raw materials:
been converted into new products, as we need instead to be better at turning
Other discount brands and online most common recycling methodologies the old into the new.
retailers, such as Primark and boohoo, struggle to separate blended materials
have also accelerated supply and like polyester and cotton. Worn Again’s patented polymer recycling
production processes, driving down technology separates contaminants,
prices to the point where dresses can “ If fashion brands do not dyes and blended materials from clothing
be marketed for as little as £5. and returns them to raw material state for
change their ways by 2030 future re-use. Its research is being backed
From waist to waste then the decline in earnings by investors like fast fashion giant H&M.
Faster production, cheaper pricing and could reduce overall And H&M is not the only fashion retailer
smart social media marketing mean that industry profits by some recalibrating its business to promote
fashions fade faster than ever, making greater sustainability. Zara has recently
many garments single-use items — and $52 billion.” pledged that by 2025 it will use only
often not even that. UK adults have been organic, sustainable or recycled cotton,
estimated to spend on average £733 a In February 2019 the UK’s Environmental linen and polyester. Outdoor clothing
year on clothes that remain unworn in Audit Committee published a report company Patagonia was the first to
their wardrobes. We are buying five times condemning unsustainable practices in produce a polyester fleece from
as many outfits as we did in the 1980s. the fashion industry. The government recycled plastic bottles. And for a
The environmental impact is sobering. rejected its recommendations to ban number of years Kering has published
incineration or landfilling of unsold environmental profit and loss accounts
It can take up to 2,700 litres of water to stock that could be reused or recycled. in parallel with its financial ones.
produce a cotton T-shirt. The majority
of this water footprint is linked to cotton Smart fashion There is a business imperative, with
farming — a problem exacerbated by future profitability at risk. A 2017 report,
the fact that much of the world’s cotton It is increasingly clear that we need to Pulse of the Fashion Industry, projected
production is concentrated in water- introduce ‘circular economy’ principles, that if fashion brands do not change
scarce regions. Meanwhile, textile dyeing where waste is designed out from the their ways by 2030 then the decline in
is the second-largest polluter of clean start, to fashion. The journey of a earnings could reduce overall industry
water in the world. Rapanui T-shirt exemplifies this approach. profits by some $52 billion.
The total amount of greenhouse gas Sourcing organically produced Indian Is “off trend” on trend?
emissions from textiles production — cotton, the company produces shirts in
1.2 billion tonnes annually — exceeds a factory powered by renewable energy. New technologies and circular economy
that of international flights and maritime The shirts are dyed with recirculated innovations are in their infancy, however,
shipping combined. If the fashion water and designs are printed on shirts and some consumers are reviving more
industry does not adapt, some estimate only once orders have been made to old-fashioned methods to make a more
that it will use up a quarter of the world’s avoid overproduction. After use, the immediate contribution to sustainability.
annual carbon budget by 2050. shirts can be returned for store credit and,
being made from 100% cotton printed Oxfam recently publicised the issue of
Synthetic materials such as polyester with ink that is easier to remove, can fast fashion through its
and acrylic come with their own problems easily be recycled into another garment. #SecondhandSeptember campaign,
16 Vision Review www.visionifp.co.ukThe fast fashion rebellion
Vintage and second-hand clothing
1
is finding a new lease of life among
the younger generation. This trend
is supported by the proliferation of
online platforms, the ubiquity of
charity shops and the emergence of
popular vintage fashion shops in
many cities.
Emily Stott, a 20-year-old Exeter University
student, is one of a growing number of
younger consumers committed to buying
as much as possible second-hand. “The
environmental benefits are important,”
she says, “but second-hand clothes are
also cheaper, the materials are often
better, and I will probably be the only one
wearing an item, which I like.”
The idea of sustainable fashion is not just
a millennial trend. Financial journalist
Simoney Kyriakou says: “I recently
2 3 realised that I had reached the age of 42
having never thrown any of my clothes
in the bin. People need to learn to use a
needle and thread!
“If I find jeans with tears then I patch
them with other reclaimed bits of
fabric. If my old clothes are in too poor
condition to be donated then I use
them as cloths or rags. There’s a use for
everything.”
Kyriakou’s message will resonate with
older generations brought up to waste
not, want not. And it seems that others
asking shoppers to say no to new clothes 1: This 18,500 sq ft manufactured in India are recognising the benefits of a “make
Oxfam superstore in with organic sustainable
for 30 days. Online US thrift store do and mend” mindset.
Oxford is staffed by 150 cotton. 3: More than
thredUp’s annual report predicts that volunteers and has a 13 million people use
second-hand clothes will make up a drive-through option the Depop app to buy Rachelle Strauss, founder of an annual
third of closets by 2033, comfortably for people to drop off and sell vintage clothing awareness campaign, Zero Waste Week,
overtaking fast fashion. A recent poll of donations. 2: Clothes and other items. says knitting and sewing classes are
1,500 people in the UK showed that starting across the country as younger
45% would buy pre-owned clothes. generations seek to rediscover the lost
Images: Harry Harrison/Alamy, Edward Jonkler/Alamy, Depop
“ The total amount of skills of repairing clothes. “Our
Depop, a social media/second-hand shop greenhouse gas emissions grandmothers wouldn’t think twice about
hybrid, is a mobile platform for users to sewing on a button, repairing a hem or
sell their unwanted or vintage fashion from textiles production darning socks,” she says. “It was normal
items and accessories. Selfridges is — 1.2 billion tonnes and expected.”
hosting Depop sellers on a monthly basis
to highlight changing attitudes within
annually — exceeds that Fast fashion may not yet be hanging by
fashion. Similarly, Asda is hosting a of international flights and a needle and thread, but consumers are
‘Re-Loved’ charity clothing pop-up shop increasingly demanding a style that is
to improve the environmental impact
maritime shipping more sustainable — and the industry is
of its George clothing brand operations. combined.” under pressure to respond.
www.visionifp.co.uk Vision Review 17On the starting block
Image: Denys Rudyi/Alamy
18 Vision Review www.visionifp.co.ukOn the starting block
On the
starting
block
Blockchain technology could one day
transform our lives, so it is remarkable
how little most of us understand it.
Even the experts struggle to make it
clear. Our blockchain primer may help
you begin to understand what the fuss
is about.
Steven Haines
B
lockchain is being touted as a radical and
cost-effective means of transforming myriad
transactions and processes. What is it and is it
going to be as revolutionary as some people claim?
What is blockchain?
Blockchain was introduced to the world
in 2009. It served as the methodology
underpinning cryptocurrency bitcoin.
Key to any transaction is trust. Often
this arises from the involvement of
third parties, such as a banker, a
solicitor or an estate agent. Blockchain
is a clever way of storing and sharing
a trusted network of data. It could
eliminate the need for these
intermediaries, making a whole host of
transactions cheaper and quicker.
The technology works by storing multiple
copies of all the transactions of a deal as it
progresses. This is called distributed ledger technology
(DLT). Information in the blockchain is protected using
cryptography, so it cannot be hacked and changed.
www.visionifp.co.uk Vision Review 19On the starting block
Blockchain has tremendous potential
to disrupt existing ways of working How cryptocurrencies work
across facets of life, from registering
land in remote parts of the world to Buying a cup of coffee with a traditional credit card or with a cryptocurrency
speeding up insurance claims. underpinned by blockchain technology
How does blockchain actually work?
The easiest way to illustrate how
blockchain works is to look at bitcoin.
The illustration opposite compares
how a traditional electronic transaction
works with a payment via
cryptocurrency.
What is a block?
The blocks in a blockchain are made up
of pieces of digital information in three
parts:
1. Blocks store information about
transactions such as date, time and
value.
2. Blocks store information about who
is participating in transactions, using
a unique, anonymised digital
signature.
With a traditional credit card With bitcoin
3. Blocks store a unique code, called a
hash, which ensures that every 1. Give your credit card details 1. Give your bitcoin wallet
block in the chain looks different. to the barista details to the barista
How does a block get into the chain? 2. Café asks the bank if you 2. Café asks all the computers in
have the money in your the bitcoin blockchain (known
When a block stores new data it is account (authorisation) as ledgers) if you have the
added to the blockchain; this is how money in your account
the chain of blocks is created. Before 3. Bank checks its records
the new block can be added to the (ledger) 3. They check their records
chain four things need to happen:
4. If the answer is yes then the 4. If the answer is yes then they
1. A transaction must occur. bank tells the café all tell the café
2. The transaction must be verified. 5. Bank updates its records 5. All the ledgers update their
Instead of using humans, with (ledger) to show the records to show the movement
blockchain this is done by a network movement of the money of the money from your account
of computers (up to five million in from your account to the to the café’s
the case of bitcoin). café’s
6. The first computer to validate
3. The transaction information (date, 6. The bank collects a fee the transaction receives a
time, various digital signatures) is small fee in cryptocurrency
Image: iStock
stored in a block. 7. You get your coffee
7. You get your coffee
20 Vision Review www.visionifp.co.ukOn the starting block
4. When everything in the block is Experts say blockchain is already being
verified, it is allocated its unique hash Where is blockchain used in financial processes such as
identifier. This also defines it as the gaining traction? settlement, clearing and cross-border
most recent block added to the chain. payments.
The latest Global Enterprise Blockchain
The information in the blockchain then Benchmarking Study, published by However, our digital infrastructure
becomes publicly available. For the University of Cambridge’s Centre extends well beyond financial services.
instance, you can go to blockchain.com for Alternative Finance, highlights Blockchain technology could, for example,
and look at all the bitcoin transactions. blockchain’s use across a variety of be used to manage food and drug supply
industries. The financial services chains to guarantee authenticity and
Is blockchain secure? sector remains dominant in applying prevent adulteration. It could be used
this still-emerging technology. to create land registries in places like
Anyone can view the contents of a Africa and protect farmland from being
blockchain, but you can also connect stolen, or to ensure royalty payments to
an individual computer to it. After this musicians when their music is played
43%
the computer is automatically updated Finance and insurance over the internet. It may enable online
each time there is a new transaction and democratic elections. And it could make
a new block added. This means that buying and registering a vehicle simpler.
thousands (or, in the case of bitcoin,
millions) of computers have a copy of Why hasn’t bitcoin taken over the
the same blockchain. Each copy of the world?
blockchain is identical. Because there
are so many, it is difficult for hackers to Blockchain and cryptocurrencies suffer
manipulate them all. A single block will from being new, so cryptocurrencies
fail the verification stage if it does not are difficult to spend and volatile. This
match itself in the other computers. is not the fault of blockchain. However,
the computing power needed to create
The transactions in the blockchain are the unique hash for each bitcoin
anonymised (the only identifying blockchain block would power an
feature is the secret digital signature) to average US household for eight days. This
protect privacy. makes a large-scale blockchain such as
bitcoin environmentally unfriendly and
How do you avoid human error? 9% 7% very expensive.
Cross-industry Other
Human error could mean that one The issue could be addressed by the
computer’s copy of the blockchain differs development of super-fast quantum
from the rest. This is overcome using a computers, but this might cause another
process called consensus. If there are problem. Blockchains could become
multiple, differing copies of a blockchain, hackable because the computer power
the longest chain available becomes 6% 6% will exist to reprogram all the hashes in
Accommodation Healthcare and
the master copy. The blockchain with and food services social assistance a blockchain, rendering them insecure.
the most users will grow fastest, and
the blockchain with the most users will Another issue is ‘garbage in — garbage
be the blockchain that is most trusted. out’. Most people have suffered from
4% 4% 3%
Since technology cannot know if a block Retail trade Transportation Arts,
inaccurate data in a computer at some
does not match due to human error or and warehousing entertainment point, and blockchain is not immune to
malicious activity, the same approach and recreation this problem.
to policing works for both.
3% 3% 3% So is blockchain going to be as
4% Wholesale Public Real estate
What are the uses of blockchain? Mining, revolutionary as some people say?
trade admin and rental
quarrying, oil and leasing Almost certainly yes — there are so
Cryptocurrencies are only the start of gas extraction many applications where it could
the potential applications for blockchain. prove useful. But not yet.
Source: Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance: Global
Enterprise Blockchain Benchmarking Study, 2019; data
collected from more than 160 entities across 49 countries
[shortfall accounted for by rounding]
www.visionifp.co.uk Vision Review 21Allergic to life
Allergic to life
Allergies are on the rise, with every generation seeming to
suffer more than the previous one. Are we becoming more
sensitive to the world around us?
Ian Dembinski
I “ Around 30% of
n 1827 The Times reported that the however, successive generations across
Duke of Devonshire was “afflicted with Europe, the USA and developing
what is vulgarly called the Hay-fever”. UK pensioners countries have reported sharp increases
A few years earlier his condition did suffer allergies, but in the numbers affected.
not even have a name. A doctor, John
Bostock, first described the symptoms that number rises Serious health implications
to the Medical and Chirurgical Society to 50% for their
in 1819. The public soon caught on to Around 30% of UK pensioners suffer
the idea that these symptoms were grandchildren.” allergies, but that number rises to 50%
caused by the effluvium — smell — of for their grandchildren. The UK has the
new hay. highest rate of asthma in the world —
there are 50,000 asthma-related
Bostock, who had suffered every June hospital admissions each year — and
since the age of eight, had tried to allergic rhinitis (sneezing and a runny
alleviate his misery with bleeding, cold nose) affects almost one in four of us.
baths and even opium. He eventually
found relief by moving to the coast for All allergies are rising and food
the summer. By the end of the 19th Clutching at allergies in particular. There was a
century hay fever was known as the strawberries five-fold increase in peanut allergies
aristocrats’ disease and seaside resorts Richard III is best known between 1995 and 2016. With this
advertised themselves as places to for killing the princes in comes an increasing risk of food-
escape its effects. the Tower of London and induced anaphylaxis, which has risen
being buried under a car by 41% in six years.
Food allergies have a longer recorded park in Leicester. Less well
known is the fact that he
history. Two thousand years ago the Overreacting
would break out in hives
Chinese issued edicts warning pregnant if he ate strawberries.
women against foods like shrimp, and Legend has it that he An allergy happens when your body
Hippocrates (460–377 BC) referred to once furtively consumed encounters a normally harmless
‘hostile humours’ that made men “a messe of strauberies” foreign substance called an allergen
‘suffer badly’ after eating cheese. But and then blamed his and overreacts.
food allergies only began to be studied reaction on witchcraft
Images: Jim Newberry/Alamy, iStock
orchestrated by a political
methodically in the 1920s. opponent. His rival was
It produces an antibody called
summarily beheaded. immunoglobin E (IgE). Antibodies are
It is clear that for most of history the normally a good thing — they circulate
incidence of allergies was so low they in the bloodstream and help remove
were seen merely as medical harmful bacteria or viruses. There are
curiosities. In the past three decades, many kinds of IgE — one for each allergy.
22 Vision Review www.visionifp.co.ukAllergic to life www.visionifp.co.uk Vision Review 23
Allergic to life
“ There is clear evidence that Most common food suggest we are coming into contact
allergies in children with far more of these molecules than
children exposed to dirt historically. The body is mistaking
are less likely to develop them for parasites.
allergies.” Another theory is that we are increasingly
lacking vitamin D, which is known to
When the antibody is inhaled, swallowed, have antioxidant properties that may be
touched or injected (through an insect good for us. American scientists have
bite, for instance) the IgE rush to the established a link between children
body’s defence. They release a cocktail Cow’s milk with asthma and low vitamin D levels.
of chemicals that latch on to nerve Doctors say 80% of it should come
cells, triggering itchiness and coughing from the sun, but on average we spend
or other familiar symptoms. only 10% of available daylight hours
outside.
Why we get allergies is less well
understood. Natural selection would Fish and shellfish Changing diets could also be to blame.
have favoured individuals with an Stephen Till, a professor of allergy at King’s
immune system that could fight off College London, says: “The commonest
pathogens. How is overreacting to new onset severe food allergy I see is to
harmless ones of benefit? prawns. The type of food we eat has
changed a lot in recent decades due to
Finding the causes changes in the food industry.”
Hen's eggs
One theory blames tiny parasitic worms. The growth of heavily processed food
More than 20% of the Earth’s population is considered another factor. The way
has a parasitic worm infection. Before some foods are processed — modern
modern health systems our ancestors bread grains, for example — may increase
faced a lifelong struggle against them. the allergenicity of food.
The theory suggests our body learnt to Peanuts
recognise the proteins on the worm’s One of the most popular arguments is
surface and evolved IgE antibodies in that we are too clean. There is clear
response. The antibodies ensured that evidence that children exposed to dirt
immune system cells quickly repelled are less likely to develop allergies
any parasite trying to get in. “You need including asthma. Amish children, for
to react within an hour to reduce the instance, have half as many allergies as
chance of these parasites surviving,” Soy their city-dwelling counterparts. Some
says David Dunne, a parasitologist at products we use to avoid germs, such
the University of Cambridge. as antibacterial soaps, may prevent the
healthy development of a child’s
Soy
The worm theory states that proteins immune system.
on parasitic worms are similar in shape
to other molecules we now regularly All children go through a phase of
Images: iStock, Kathy deWitt/Alamy
encounter in our lives. If our body detects putting everything in their mouths. And
Wheat
them it mounts a pointless defence to all parents know the lengths we go to
violently eject them. “Allergy is just an in order to prevent this. But that could
unfortunate side effect of defence cause an increase in allergies. If the
against parasitic worms,” says Dunne. body does not have to fight parasitic
worms, might the immune system turn
Given the rise in allergies, this would against harmless substances? No single
Kiwi fruit
Source: NICE
24 Vision Review www.visionifp.co.ukAllergic to life
“ The only way to
prevent an allergy is
to avoid the allergens
that cause you
problems. We have
not yet found a way
to cure them.”
answer seems completely satisfactory, Allergy or That these foreign bodies manage to
and the research continues. intolerance? survive, even though the IgE antibody
has evolved to eradicate them, has set
Searching for cures A true food allergy scientists investigating how they hide
causes an immune system from our immune system.
The only way to prevent an allergy is to reaction that affects
avoid the allergens that cause you numerous organs in the They have found that the parasites
problems. We have not yet found a way body. In some cases an secrete a chemical that suppresses our
to cure them, though a temporary allergic food reaction can immune response. This chemical also
reprieve is possible. Where an allergy is be life-threatening. In reduces other autoimmune responses
especially severe the sufferer may contrast, food intolerance such as those that cause Crohn’s disease.
undergo immunotherapy, using an symptoms are generally When human hookworms (which grow
injection, drops or tablets, but this is less serious, take a while to about 8mm) are introduced into the
not a permanent cure. to develop and arise when guts of sufferers their symptoms are
you eat a substantial reduced. The worms cause side effects,
Early consumption of trigger foods has amount of the food. so the focus is on synthesising a drug
been shown to prevent an allergy with the same chemical properties.
developing by exploiting the gut’s From 2021 businesses will Investigators are exploring if the
immune system and enabling it to create have to clearly label all therapy could be used to treat asthma,
a more resilient biome (the bacteria in ingredients and allergens an allergy with similar characteristics.
your stomach). A US study has suggested on products. The new
that eating allergenic foods when you law was introduced after The ‘old friends’ allergy hypothesis
are pregnant and breast feeding can campaigning by the states that the immune system
reduce the level of allergy in your child. parents of 15-year-old becomes fully effective only if stimulated
Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, by exposure to the microorganisms
And we keep returning to those worms. who died in 2016 after and parasites that have coexisted with
Curiously, the lowest incidence of eating a Pret a Manger us throughout evolution. If they can
autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sandwich that contained cure our allergies they will not just be
sclerosis, occurs where the level of sesame. our oldest friends but also some of our
infection by parasitic worms is highest. best ones.
www.visionifp.co.uk Vision Review 25Mind your language Image: Sergio Ingravalle/Ikon Images 26 Vision Review www.visionifp.co.uk
Mind your language
Mind
your
language
‘Political correctness’ has become a
catchphrase for any attempt to control and
shape the language we use. Has it made us
more tolerant and respectful or undermined
our rights? And what influence has it had on
Brexit and Donald Trump’s rise to power?
Elliot Bancroft
www.visionifp.co.uk Vision Review 27Mind your language
I
n 1997 council staff in Birmingham
needed to create a marketing
campaign that covered a series of
events in the city centre over 41 days.
These included BBC Children in Need,
the switching on of the Christmas
lights, a German Christmas market, an
outdoor ice-rink, Diwali, an extensive
arts programme and a huge New Year's
Eve party.
To market everything individually would
have been expensive and time-
consuming. They needed a generic
banner to capture all the various activities
and attract a sponsor. They came up
with a portmanteau — Winterval, a
combination of ‘winter’ and ‘festival’. Alf Garnett was the central character
in Till Death Us Do Part, a popular BBC
To their astonishment, they suddenly sitcom that ran from 1965 to 1975.
found themselves in the eye of a media Played by Warren Mitchell, he was
storm. “Council bans Christmas!” famous for his racist, sexist, xenophobic
and anti-socialist views. The intention
screamed headlines. “Political correctness was that the audience would find him a
notion that language does influence
gone mad!” cried the critics. figure of ridicule, but research found that the way we think.”
many viewers instead agreed with him.
The accusations would not have gained Laurie Cohen, a professor of work and
momentum if people had not intuitively organisation at Nottingham University
suspected that there existed those in
“ When we change the Business School, agrees and points to
authority who might genuinely wish to language we use we’re how the creation of the term “sexual
erode their cultural traditions and shape harassment” in the 1970s gave women
their behaviour through language. In a
often helping to correct who for years had been the subject of
sense, as we shall see, they were right. power imbalances.” bottom pinching and lewd comments a
language to explain how they felt. It
History correctness as a major danger. He said: helped to ensure that offences were
“The notion of political correctness has recognised and taken seriously and
The first recorded used of the term ignited controversy across the land...In ultimately improved behaviour at work.
‘politically correct’ was in 1793, in an their own Orwellian way, crusades that “Language is often about power,” she
American Supreme Court judgment. It demand correct behaviour crush says. “When we change the language we
was only in the 20th century that the diversity in the name of diversity.” use we’re often helping to correct power
phrase began to gain traction, initially imbalances, which is what’s happening
among left-wing activists. It was used The reference to George Orwell was when, for example, gay people reclaim
ironically — a term of gentle mockery deliberate. In his book, 1984, Orwell’s a derogatory word like ‘queer’ and make
for political bedfellows who were being infamous ‘thought police’ tried to control it a badge of honour.”
self-righteous and dogmatic. people through language. Hazel Price, a
Images: Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy, iStock
linguistics lecturer at the University of Modern attacks
By the 1980s Thatcherites had Huddersfield and editorial assistant at
appropriated the term to berate the ‘loony language magazine Babel, says: “At the Even during the bitter political conflicts
left’ and the antics of ‘Red Ken’ Livingstone time Orwell was writing there was a of the Thatcher era, when the Sun
at the Greater London Council. belief — the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis newspaper regularly ran stories about
— that language determines thought. puritanical Labour councils to illustrate
Back in America, in 1991, President Experiments have disproved the theory, acts of “political correctness gone mad”,
George Bush Senior identified political but there’s empirical support for a softer the tone was mockery.
28 Vision Review www.visionifp.co.ukYou can also read
