WHY SEO MATTERS

Nice new word, eh. Datarati has just been coined by someone no less than the chief economist at G00gle who was asked recently to predict the skills that will be required of a future work force. His answer? The profession of the future is the statistician - someone who can interpret great laods of facts and figures.
In the context of the Internet he is talking about those who have the technical ability, for exmple, to look at google's website optimizer or google analytics and on the basic of the information contained there make sound recommendations for a business. Through scienticially testing various approaches these statisticians should be able to indiciate what sells and why it sells.
Many would counter such a prediction with scepticism as statistians are not really known to be at the cutting edge of the corporate world. They might be able to interpret data but does this mean they can make clever and profitable business decisions based on this data? I think this is a very good point. You can be a brilliant mathematician but a hopeless businessman.
So a number of questions?
Are the jobs of the future related to the Internet?
Will the life of a business depend on its visibility?
Will search engine optimization growth in importance as a skill and a profession?