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Predicting Life 100 Years From Now
New submitter Simon321 writes "BBC News has an interesting article about the top predictions for life 100 years from now. The highlights include extensive farming of the ocean, wiring all sorts of computers to our brains, space elevators, and the break-up of the United States. 'There are some indications already that California wants to split off and such pressures tend to build over time. It is hard to see this waiting until the end of the century. Maybe an East Coast cluster will want to break off too. Pressures come from the enormous differences in wealth generation capability, and people not wanting to fund others if they can avoid it.'"
ROTFL. They're talking about California breaking off politically, not physically.
Their predictions are still so much bunk, and calling them sci-fi authors smears the good name of actual sci-fi authors.
Futurologists don't need a background in science, only an audience.
The difference between a "futurologist" and a "psychic friend" is apparently $1.99 per minute, and you must be over 18 to call.
John
Prediction 1 : I'll be dead.
Prediction 2 : Don't care. See prediction 1.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
I predict there will be unrest in the middle east.
Actually, California gets less back from the federal government then we pay out. We would be in much better financial shape if we didn't have to subsidize other states.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
"11. Eighty per cent of the world will have gay marriage (Likelihood 8/10)"
Seriously? We have so much widespread extremism in the world that you probably couldn't get a majority of countries to agree that milk is white, and they think this'll get done in a measly 90 years?
"12. California will lead the break-up of the US (Dev 2) (Likelihood 8/10)"
The US has survived a civil war, a depression that makes this recession look like good times, corporate tyranny that even today seems unthinkable, they have the balls to call this that likely? Look, I'm not saying it can't happen -- it definitely can. But given how (increasingly) inter-dependent and weak the states are (compared to federal gov't powers), this prediction is brave to say the least.
"13. Space elevators will make space travel cheap and easy (Ahdok) (Likelihood 8/10)"
To be fair he says it won't be so cheap that the average person can afford it, but I think even suggesting that it could be done within 100 years is again brave. There are just so many obstacles that need to be overcome to make this happen; it could even turn out to be theoretically impossible to create materials that would be necessary.
"16. Deserts will become tropical forests (jim300) (Likelihood 7/10)"
More like 1/10. Where's the water coming from? Barring a breakthrough in energy tech that would allow us to cheaply distill sea water, it's never gonna happen (read: it's never gonna happen). The trend today is pretty much the opposite, and I don't see that trend reversing anytime soon in light of increasingly aggressive farming practices and global warming.
I'd love to be wrong though.
weinersmith
100 years from now, Linux will be 5 years from taking over the desktop.
myke
Mimetics Inc. Twitter
30 years ago all sorts of stuff was being predicted. space colonies this that. all we ended up has been a widening income/wealth inequality with those amassing wealth doing nothing with that wealth but letting it amass more wealth sitting in the banks. there is no way in hell we will have space elevators, this that, as long as the rich can make more money without making anything. why invest in a space elevator, why you can just let the money sit in hedge funds and let it become more money overnight, without considerable risk ... the only ones who will do these would be new internet-era entrepreneurs and rich boys like the ones who are investing in space x thingies etc now. and no way in hell their numbers and wealth can make these stuff come true in a way that would matter for the public.
You have such a deep misunderstanding of the real world, I'm surprised you can manage to get food into your mouth to survive. The article summary seems to have triggered your "I AM THE 99%" response. However you don't seem to understand the nature of wealth. People like you sit back and complain that the rich have all their money in the bank, so there isn't any left for you. The reality is that weathy people invest their money to remain wealthy. What the hell do you think a hedge fund is? Like most investments, it puts the money to work.
If a space elevator could ever be made profitably, those kinds of funds are the ones that would invest. Poor, aimless, unmotivated fools will never make it happen. No such venture was ever done for charity. Columbus was sponsored by the Portuguese crown in a search for wealth in trade routes. The Apollo program was sponsored by the USA so as to not fall behind in the USSR and risk the cold war. A space elevator represents a huge opportunity for wealth generation. You don't think greed would make it happen if it was possible? You're just plain wrong.
-d
"Here Lies Philip J. Fry, named for his uncle, to carry on his spirit"
"Futurologist?" What does it take to call oneself a 'futurologist?'
I am a futurologist
I wasn't sure until I tried it, but it's pretty easy.
I will be a futurologist. See, it's working already!
Predictions of the Year 2000 from The Ladies Home Journal of December 1900
http://www.yorktownhistory.org/homepages/1900_predictions.htm
Some spot on. Others... not so much.
You completely miss the point. California, and most of the "blue" states, are "giver" states - their citizens and businesses pay more in federal tax (income and otherwise) than they receive back as services. California receives $0.78 (in things like highway dollars and education) per dollar of tax paid. source. For fun, compare "red" states with "blue" states. About 75% of Bush and Gore's electoral votes came from taker and giver states, respectively.
The GP's point was that if those 25c no longer "left" the state, California would be better off.
The best part was you complaining about ignorance and being "factually wrong".
I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
According to the libertarian (and Koch-funded) Tax Foundation, California has paid more into federal coffers than it has taken in federal spending since 1986 ( http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/22685.html page 5). And its share that it has given has grown in relation to the amount that it has taken.
There are eighteen states that actually pay their own way, or better, according to the latest data they have collected
( http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/266.html they're in the process of collecting funds for an updated look at more recent numbers). Seventeen of those states went for Obama / Biden in 2008.
One does not have to be a conservative to pass judgment on states leeching government money, but it helps perhaps to be in one when 94.4% of the states that do pay their own way went Democratic in the last Presidential election.
The question is therefore not "why is California spending so much more?", but why are the Red States outstripping California's spending with nothing to back up THEIR leeching ways, playing bootstrappy cowboy at the expense of people in LA, New York, Chicago, etc.?
Shiny. Let's be bad guys...
The key is that "getting along just fine as is" bit. Those days are numbered. China is taking over as world superpower. That's going to have interesting effects on the USA.
Can we PLEASE stop with the China thing? They own less than 9% of U.S. debt. They do not have any meaningful middle class. They offer nothing in the way influence on the world stage beyond that which they have with a few questionable regimes. China will be a power. Maybe a super power, but they're a long, very long way away from parity with Europe much less United States.
load "$",8,1
Someone will invent a way of making text more readable, perhaps by splitting it into smaller chunks.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Whoooooooooosh, Whooooooooooooooosh, Whoooooooooooooosh.
/flashing lights.
I have just arrived here from the year 2112 in my time machine to answer a few of your questions.
The South did win the war against the north due to everyone migrating into Canada. The problem with that is that the South wasn't happy being one state, so South North declared war on the South South which sat at a stalemate for years until Canada finally annexed the south and polited the southerners into submission. All sports other then hockey are now banned in Greater Canada and the beverage previously known as Beer in the former US was renamed "Goats Piss" by His Royal Openness Michael Geist and the 1st open source monarch.
Overpopulation was solved by the zombie crisis of 2035. The zombies actually won that but we were able to stall them by giving them their own sitcom. Groaning Pains is now in it's 76 th season although the corpse of Michael J Fox wont last that many more seasons.
China never became a real superpower because they couldn't make a decent cappuccino.
Most oil reserves ran out in 2048, in 2049 an enterprising geneticist came up with the idea of cloning dinosaurs from DNA encased in fossilised mosquitoes which then could be raised on a Costa Rican Island and turned into oil. Apart from the odd human consumption incident, this has been a smashing success.
The break up of the European Union was announced in 2014, as of December 2111, the EU parliament still hasn't got a working plan on how to facilitate the break up.
First contact was made in 2076. A ship landed in southern Fiji, initially hostile the insectoid aliens were pacified by giving them candy. in 2078 the KzsSSNRRG declared war on Earth to secure candy supplies. The Department of Homeworld Security was formed although quickly disbanded after they discovered the KzsSSNRRG's exoskeleton deflected millimetre wave scanners and no one wanted to give them an enhanced pat down. The war raged on in the stars for years with the Earth Defence Forces slowly falling back until we were able to clone Casper Van Diem.
Flying cars are still 20 years away.
Wikipedism is now bigger then Islam and Christianity combined. Jimmy Wales was deified on his death bed and now millions of people now start their days by staring and offering a personal appeal Jimmy Wales.
The Apple-Google wars of 2018 were as short lived as they were fierce. Apple lost the conflict because they used shiny white armour that could be spotted a mile away and their guns could only fire one bullet before having to be reloaded.
Lord British took over the British isles in 2023. He implemented an experience point for all working residents of great Britain. One earned XP at whatever job they do. It's the only place on earth where a level 73 Tea Lady beats a Level 42 CEO.
Richard M Stallman was lost forever on 14 August 2041. His home was searched by police but all they found was an empty bottle of soap and a recently used razor.
Copyright is now life of the sun plus 10,000 years, but Bit Torrent still works.
If you would excuse me, I must return to my own time. Typing on keyboards is so quaint, in the future we just shout "Bingle, Porn" and it does everything automatically.
Farewell.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.