Predictions and forecasts of possible futures, even when based on the latest research or invention can sometimes appear ludicrous. Past predictions can often seem laughable for appearing to be so incorrect, but although they may not have come to fruition as expected, there are elements of many past predictions that were pointing to an appropriate field, if not a specific device or activity.
“We live in strange times, caught between two opposing views of the future. On the one hand, the believers in technology and progress promise a world of ever increasing prosperity, a science-fiction scenario in which huge advances in technology have made material abundance and long healthy lives possible for people all over the world. On the other hand, the doomsayers warn us that climate change and the end of cheap oil will put an end to the stupendous economic growth we have seen in the past hundred years, and usher in a new dark age of poverty, disease and war. There are some middle positions, it is true, but they seem less convincing than the two extremes.” This article is written by Dylan Evans, and outlines his Utopia Experiment.
I have spent the last few months considering long term planning. Not what I’m going to have for breakfast next week rather than just tomorrow but what could the world be like in 2020 and am I ready for it (the answer to which is probably not).
The reason for this is because the Research into [...]
