Posted: 7/14/2005 12:07:27 PM EDT
| How do you anticipate the future unfolding? Will it progress relative to the present as the present has unspooled from the past? Or do you expect quantum --or at least greatly accelerated-- changes that will make the present seem outmoded and foreign compared to our recent past relative to the present? |
| Gradual deterioration for the status quo with economic and political crises that might become sever if not dealt with early. All in all a very bumpy and risky first half of the century. If it really spirals out of control the second half of the century will be a rebuilding phase. If control is maintained there will be tremendous technological advancement in the 2nd half of the century. |
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Quantum shift. We haven't had a whole lot of traditional mech eng type of development in the past few decades. From 1945-1965 we went from props to rocketing men into space. We built huge infrastructure projects all over the country. From 65 - 85... space shuttle? Disneyworld? Disco? From 85-present - the Internet Age. BFD. We're doing the same shit, just turning the paper into electrons. Feels like there should be something earth shattering coming down the pike. Cold fusion? FTL Spaceflight? Who knows... |
Both individual rights and individual ability will be sacrificed for the common good. |
i need another beer |
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That is and has been due to population growth. It is not an irretrievable situation as yet. |
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Widescale war for 10-20 years in M.E., N.K., and China. Civil war in the U.S. within 25 years. The complete rollback of the 2nd ammendment, privacy rights, and heavily censored free speech with state run news. Possibly 20% of the worlds population dying. Concentrated in M.E., India, and China. Africa gets worse with aids famine and disease. Basically the worst parts of the bible and 1984. |
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I was just thinking about history and our view of history, and I started wondering if our present would make much of a history for the future to look back on, or if near-future events and a changing view of what can be considered 'historic' would overshadow everything that seems so pivotal and monumental now. Will Islamist murder continue to be a force shaping history, as it has in the modern age since the late 1970s at least? Will resource scarcity change the definitions of poverty and wealth? Will what we think of as high technology be as outdated in ten years as Betamax VCRs and Commodore 64s are now, or will it take less time than that? |