Aspirations and visions about the future - everyone has them, but the ideas about what will happen in the future must be split in two different categories:
1. Concept for the future in general (the whole world and the humanity, that is) 2. Idea of one's personal future.
These two are entirely different things, and thou they may have a strong connection, one can exist without the other. For example, Joe thinks, in 2040 robots will take over the Earth, but he has no idea, what he is going to do, when he is done with the college, which is going to happen in 3 years time.
I want to focus on the first category , the future in general and how we form our expectations, ideas and visions about it. As everything else, our opinion about the topic is determined by the information sources, in the most brightest sense, we are coming across. Mass media, books, education, our family and the environment we grew up in, personal experience, etc. Our ideas about life, death and everything that is in between and after, reflects our ability to absorb the information around us.
Indeed, the concept for the future of any individual can hardly be unique, humans imagination already captured most of the possibilities in sci-fi literature and movies, but aside from that, the technological advancement in general seems to be predictable, even thou it doesn't happen as fast as people (or sci-fi authors in specific) expect it to happen.
I was thinking about all this the other day, and I really asked myself where the world and the humanity is going and what is going to happen in say 30 or so years time. My thoughts let me to the realization, that there are a couple of basic concepts, the godfathers of our sci-fi imaginations:
Global natural disaster, end of humanity One of the most common ideas about the future, is that the world will come to an end and humans will face extinction because of a natural disaster. Tones of prophecies, books and movies were made on the topic.
Technological dystopia A future where the girls are like Motoko Kusanagi and the boys are like JC Denton. Future with no moral boundaries, where everything, regarding science and medicine is possible and allowed.
Third World War Another common idea is that humanity, social order, nature and environment as we know them today will stop being, because of a great national conflict, including nuclear or chemical weapons.
Social Collapse A future where the social order of today, both in terms of policy and goods distribution, is no more. The most likely reason for it will be the economy.
New social order, Utopia Communism comes in mind, but maybe it could be something completely different. Main idea is new system of goods distribution and policy, all for a greater good.
Technological and spiritual Utopia Mankind achieves immortality, there are no diseases, we live in perfect harmony with the world around us. Our goal is to explore the universe and the reason of our being.
Or maybe none of those will happen? What do you think?
Poll: What is your concept about the future?
New social order, Utopia (4)
33%
Global natural disaster, end of humanity (3)
25%
Third World War (2)
17%
Social Collapse (2)
17%
Technological dystopia (1)
8%
Technological and spiritual Utopia (0)
0%
Something different (explain what) (0)
0%
12 total votes
Your vote: What is your concept about the future?
(Vote): Global natural disaster, end of humanity (Vote): Technological dystopia (Vote): Third World War (Vote): Social Collapse (Vote): New social order, Utopia (Vote): Technological and spiritual Utopia (Vote): Something different (explain what)
I actually believe in extinction/mass death of the human race in the next couple hundred years. We are manipulating so many things we don't fully understand or realize the consequences of, that we're bound to have fucked up. Sometimes the consequences of things only manifest themselves after a long period of time, when it's already too late.
I'll give you an example: not too much is known about the EXACT cause of cancer. With all the changes to the human environment and nurishment that happened in the past 100 years, there's bound to be something we consume or spend a lot of time around that has such a bad, but delayed effect on our bodies that we die.
In general, we have so much power over our environment that we do not hesitate to abuse eventhough direct consequences aren't know yet. Yeah, humanity is smart, but humans fuck up all the time, even with the strictest of safety regulations. Shit like the oil leak in the gulf of mexico is just bound to happen.
In my opinion it will be a combination of the things you have listed not just a single event. One event will feed the other and in my personal opinion it will all be for the worse. "Man" knows and has done nothing different since the "beginning". The individual is a genius while the collective/social construct as a whole is just the opposite.
Maybe I'm a cynic, but even now I see people and they refuse to change their habits unless the world around them changes. Only when something is forced on someone will the change remain permanent. Instead of going through a relapse and returning to their old habits.
Here's BuGzlToOnl future break down:
The event that will start things of will be a global natural disaster. Be it global warming, the super volcano, a mega earth quake, a tsunami, or what ever is destined to occur in 2012. This will not be that harmful on a global scale to human kind as a whole, but it will create a lot of conflict. Instead of everyone making sacrifices and working together to figure things out diplomatically our very brilliant leaders from around the world will blame each other and start arguing on past histories between their countries. Things that happened over 500 years ago and don't really matter. Somehow same-sex marriage will get thrown into the mix along with a couple other political scandals.
Inevitably this will lead to a Third World War. Fun fact WWI was first named the "War to End All Wars" because past leaders didn't think future leaders would be as stupid as they once were, but again "man" doesn't change. So here we go, yet again. WWIII will eventually start; all because we can't learn to share and play nice with our neighbors.
Your technological dystopia will also start here. Here societies will think up creative ways to kill each other more effectively without killing themselves or blowing up the planet. Sooner or later though nuclear missiles will be launched and blow everything the fuck up. Nuclear winter will follow killing mostly everyone that took part in said war along with those who wished and tried to prevent it from taking place. This includes children who don't even know the true meaning of hate. Which to me is the most disturbing thing mankind does to itself.
But mankind is resilient; he will survive.
Here's where the social collapse comes into play. Now that governments are no longer in power people will be forced to fend for themselves. The world will become something that resembles the "The Road" or "The Book of Eli"; if you haven't seen them I strongly recommend both. Simply put; amazing films. Cannibalism will become all the rage. If your not a cannibal your not cool.
With a lot of time; and I do mean A LOT societies will start to form a new. I doubt that mankind will ever truly become extinct. Not as long as Earth exists. Now that we have learned to be true only what was speculated in the past, things will change. Finally mankind try to transcend into a new social order; a Utopia. Or so it we would seem. To build utopia from the ground up is a lot of work. So we will require two tiers of people. One the workers and two the ruling class. Cue in the 1927 German film "Metropolis". Where the ruling class lives in paradise from atop while the working class in tunnels maintaining this new Utopia from below. Unseen and unheard until a revolution takes place and evens things out.
Sooner or later mankind will start again where it left off in cycle and will renew anew. The End.
Oh and in regards to the technological and spiritual Utopia. I don't really think that it is within the grasp of mankind to obtain. Each individual would have to sacrifice a lot for this to happen and selflessness is a rare quality within our species.
Thinking about the future is irrelevant since it's determined (Einstein is right!). But if I'd to guess, I'd say that in ~30 years: - only a small portion of us has to work. The gross of most production processes will be done by machines, therefore making physical labor obsolete. The economy will be organized in a world-wide fashion, most likely by gigantic companies employing hundreds of thousands of people. Since natural ressources like oil became much more expensive, most things (cars, power stations...) are working with solar power. Mankind realized that the way capitalism works nowadays (increasing productivity by x % every year in order to employ the same number of people getting x% more money every year) had to stop at some point. With more and more people not being needed to produce everyday goods (nowadays ~25% work in the industrial sector. It will be ~5% then) while not being able to get other jobs there is a bunch of people who live from donations/social systems.
- political power is not only in the hand of the USA anymore. Europe, China, India (which will have conquered Pakistan by then in order to prevent a nuclear war) have their own strong armies, economies and research capabilities. The former OPEC countries are all being abandoned
- Israel will be the first country to be hit by a terrorist attack involving a nuclear bomb. The counterattack leads to Iran being completely destroyed although nobody can prove the Iranian government supported the terrorists.
- proceedings in genetic engineering lead to a whole new industry: people will optimize their children regarding several aspects (health issues, cognitive capabilities...). Since the average life span went up to ~120 years in the first world countries people only get children as a sort of self replacement when getting 60+ (not more than 2 per couple)
- religion as we know it became obsolete. Drugs and tiny electronic devices being able to provide religious revelations, psychedelic experiences and orgasmic feelings are omnipresent. Since there is a whole lot of people not working a new, dangerous cult arose: they worship Jesse Jobs, son of Steve Jobs, CEO of Banana (which is market leader regarding disposable electronic devices)
- when Earth has to send it's finest man to fight for it in Mortal Kombat, Jesse Jobs is elected via public voting. It's when the Earth falls to Shang Tsungs hordes that people realize that democracy doesn't work
EPT
