This is how people imagined the world 100 years into the future, published in the Ladies Home Journal in 1900:

http://bp3.blogger.com/_sGYULzoQCgA/RiR7L_dyCLI/AAAAAAAAAdU/2COTRQtZAk8/s1600-h/Ladies+Home+Journal+Dec+1900+paleofuture+paleo-future.jpg

There are quite a few exact hits (America will have 350 million people, trains will go 150 mph, photograph will be telegraphed in any distance) and a few misses. (everybody will walk 10 miles, C,X won't be used))

Very interesting....Fav one:

"Store purchases by tube..."

Linky not worky

It works for me...Try this and click on the headline:

http://digg.com/general_sciences/What_may_happen_in_the_next_100_years_from_the_yea r_1900

And here are some predictions from a few about 2108:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/nyregion/thecity/30year.html

Thanks. The problem with forecasting are several. Some of them are:

1. People who make forecasts may not be subject matter experts (SME) in that forecast item.

2. Those SMEs who make the forecast may not know new discoveries 30 years down the road that results in new stuff.

3. Most importantly, even if you have the technology, money is needed to bring that to market. That is why, with all the present technology available to the Africans, they can not seem to put it together.

So, it is a crap shoot....

I have a brochure by HP produced in 1977 which shows a professor holding a PDA going to a meeting. We have that now called HP iPAQ. But what they do not have is the artificial intelligence behind that PDA....and the sensors embedded in the buildings to connect to the PDA...can it be done...yes...

And here are some predictions from a few about 2108:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/nyregion/thecity/30year.html

I was very amused by the predictions of Kate Kaplan, the seventh-grader, about New York of 2108. It is almost exactly what people a century ago envisioned about New York (http://davidszondy.com/future/city/newyork_2032.htm) of 2008:


The city will be all skyscrapers, no more town houses and brownstones. Buildings will connect to each other through an aboveground tunnel system...

Central Park will be preserved in a bubble to protect it from the adverse effects of global warming. Everything will be shiny and nice and big. The subway cars and stations will have TVs in them. The Empire State Building will no longer be New York’s largest building; it will probably be replaced by a giant Starbucks. Madame Tussaud’s wax figures will have robotic capabilities.

Thanks. The problem with forecasting are several. Some of them are:

...and that is exactly why so erie this writer's prediction because he got it right so many times...

Lol Airships? To the best of my knowledge man cant fly and never will.

And what are these telegraphs of pictures? Impossible!

...and that is exactly why so erie this writer's prediction because he got it right so many times...

and so are the authors Jules Gabriel Verne, H.G. Wells and Arthur C. Clark....

Check out the novel by Edward Bellamy: Looking Backward, 2000 to 1887. It was not such a good batch of predictions.

Some of the things that some people foresee just make you slap your forehead. Bellamy predicted that we would go into restaurants and eat "pre-masticated food" (the very words make me gag!) slowly extruded by tubes into our mouths, which we take in and swallow. The tubes would be washed out between courses. He didn't understand something which is now basic food science: the important role that chewing plays in the release of pheromones that trigger our sense of smell, which is about 90% of what "taste" is.

Some upcoming military technologies....

Daniel Burrus, of Hartland, Wis.-based Burrus Research, said one of the key military technologies to make the jump to civilian use will be unmanned aviation. Autopilot systems have been used for years to fly commercial aircraft between airports. Landing and taking off in many military aircraft are now automated.

Would the general public want to fly in a jet with no pilot on board? No, he said. At least one pilot would have to be present to oversee the operation. Ultimately, automation would make for safer aircraft and eliminate human errors, he said.

Robots will see the convergence of information technology, computing and nanotechnology.

The military’s need to reduce casualties is driving the research and development into robotics and autonomy. It’s accepted that Japan is ahead of the United States in robotics, but both Canton and Burrus said the two nations have different goals. Japan needs to solve a labor shortage, while the U.S. is looking toward security.

Wide-area networking, sometimes called Wi-Fi on steroids, is where every computer or handheld has a 50-terabyte capability, and each device is a fully mobile and secure Internet node itself, Canton said. There are huge implications for e-commerce, he added.

Future warrior concepts envision soldiers who are wearing computers.

“Some might ask, ‘Who would want to wear a PC?’” Burrus said. “Someone who needs access to information while they’re standing up and doing something.”

Warehouse workers, those on the road or people doing things that require them to be paying attention while being mobile, will wear these systems.“The future warrior system is going to spill over to the future salesman or the future warehouse worker,” Burrus said.

“We’re on the edge of a material science revolution,” added Canton. It will be a convergence of nanotechnology, biotechnology and information technology, and the military will employ these new fabrics and suits first. Consumers will want them next, though. A shirt that can detect poor air or bio-hazards might cost another $20, he said.

Cheaper micro-processors and small radios can combine to make “intelligent” tires. A sensor attached to a military truck or aircraft’s tires or an engine part can inform a computer when it needs repair. A part can be ordered autonomously through an advanced logistics system, and a technician can be dispatched to replace it just before it wears out, Burrus said. This technology can be applied to bridges, roads, engines, anything that suffers from wear and tear.

I'd prefer we invent and introduce more ways to treat and help each other better, rather than only new technological ways to make the exact same mistakes as in the past.

and so are the authors Jules Gabriel Verne, H.G. Wells and Arthur C. Clark....

You don't get it. The fact that a FEW others also predicted the future successfully doesn't demolish this author's prediction.

It was not such a good batch of predictions.


You don't get it, part 2. :)

The fact that lots of people didn't predict the future correctly, doesn't demolish this author's success...

You don't get it. The fact that a FEW others also predicted the future successfully doesn't demolish this author's prediction.

And you did not get the word "and"....

Check out the novel by Edward Bellamy: Looking Backward, 2000 to 1887. It was not such a good batch of predictions.

Some of the things that some people foresee just make you slap your forehead. Bellamy predicted that we would go into restaurants and eat "pre-masticated food" (the very words make me gag!) slowly extruded by tubes into our mouths, which we take in and swallow. The tubes would be washed out between courses. He didn't understand something which is now basic food science: the important role that chewing plays in the release of pheromones that trigger our sense of smell, which is about 90% of what "taste" is.

He was right! Reminds me of a buritto from Taco Bell

Would the general public want to fly in a jet with no pilot on board? No, he said. At least one pilot would have to be present to oversee the operation. Ultimately, automation would make for safer aircraft and eliminate human errors, he said.

human intervention turned the probable crash of a Boeing 777 at Heathrow (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7195804.stm) into a mere hard landing

He was right! Reminds me of a buritto from Taco BellEven Taco Bell makes food you can chew, so you can unlock the rich flavors and textures. :)

Even Taco Bell makes food you can chew, so you can unlock the rich flavors and textures. :)

I noticed people always talk about "rich flavors" and "rich cultures" -- both being positive attributes. But if ALL flavors are "rich", the qualification is meaningless. It only makes sense if some flavors are richer than others.

So why does no one ever says disparagingly "poor flavor" or "poor culture"? There must be some!

So why does no one ever says disparagingly "poor flavor" or "poor culture"? There must be some!

As long as there is MSG - no flavor is poor :D

As long as there is Africa to compare, there is no poor culture and it is racism to talk about it. Since you can not talk about it, they go nowhere!

So why does no one ever says disparagingly "poor flavor" or "poor culture"? There must be some!I don't know about you but we talk about "poor flavor" all the time. In fact Taco Bell springs to mind immediately. :)

"Poor culture"... yeah you don't hear that one very often. But we do talk about "impoverished cultures," ones with a relatively small catalog of motifs.

The great thing about these kinds of predictions is that for everything they falsely predict will come true, so much has happened that they probably couldn't conceive of happening. Who could've thought back then that we'd have little magic boxes that could access an entire world's worth of knowledge and culture in an instant, let alone "telegraph an image". This sort of ability even fifty years ago was far fetched at best until a piece of technology not a lot of people a hundred years ago could've seen coming, electronic computing.

So, applying this to the predictions of our next 100 years, we think we'll have nanotech, alternate fuels, access to space, a plateaued world population, etc. etc., but could you imagine what completely unforeseen things we'll discover that'll make our current view look passe?! I honestly can't wait...

The future is grossly overrated... :)

Here is a prediction from me: They will have memories that can be put into our brains, just like in that Schwartzenegger movie. So instead of going on a vacation, you get a brainload and you will have the pleasant memories of a nice 2 weeks honeymoon, or whatever you wish for.
Also instead of going to live concerts, you can just upload the sense of it. The opposite of it will be aviable too, deleting unwanted/bad memories...

One thing I don't see happening is the extension of human life. After all who the hell wants to live up to 130 if I look and feel like an 80 year old in my last 50 years? Unless they can give me youth, health and ability, I don't need extra life.

Going back to the brainload, if education can be brainloaded, that would be revolutionary. An 8 year old kid could get the information and abilities of a brainsurgeon. But what would we do with all those extra years that now we don't need to waste on education???

Most stuff that humans can imagine are already in scifi and fantasy books. Some are impossible, others could happen. One thing for sure, we are not going to grow new senses. So, the senses we have will enjoy new products and services built for them. We are long way from having optimum health...so may be that is an area that needs more development.

For some reason we are having too many kids that are suffering from ADHD and BiPolar disorder and no body has a clue how to fix it....

One thing I don't see happening is the extension of human life. After all who the hell wants to live up to 130 if I look and feel like an 80 year old in my last 50 years?

I assure you THAT will not happen. Since various ailments of old age is what makes you die of old age, any extension of lifespan will by necessity include amelioration of these ailments. In fact, it is happening already -- not only people live longer than 40-50 years ago, they are healthier in their old age. An average 70-year old today is about as healthy as an average 60-year decades ago.

Unless they can give me youth, health and ability, I don't need extra life.
Youth? How about late middle age? Would you want to up to 130 if you look and feel like a 50 year old? Because that's much more likely.

Youth? How about late middle age? Would you want to up to 130 if you look and feel like a 50 year old? Because that's much more likely.

I guess I would take the deal, although I doubt that happening, plus 50 year olds have plenty of healthproblems already.

Here is a thing that could happen although might be illegal:

The separation of mind and body. What if they could actually store your memories? That is in essence your life. So let's say you are a rich 70 year old and you can somehow buy a young body (like they buy kidneys) or get a guy executed or just died in an accident and your memories could be uploaded?

Basicly it was still YOU, just in a new body and you had the chance to live another 60 years. This could also be used as a backup in case you have an accident and let's say your memories would be backed up in every 3 months. If an accident happens and your body gets destroyed in it, they just find a new body and upload your latest backup...

Sounds crazy, but I believe we will be able to store and trandsfer memories...

Of more importance than new technology for most reading here is the old economics truth: The piper must be paid after the dance.

The developed world has had about a century of the unsustainable "fossil fuel dance."* If not at peak of "Peak Oil" curve it is certainly close. I think we are already slightly turning down just past the peak. On the down side of peak oil, one thing is sure: Rapidly rising prices for mobile fuel, except in Brazil, where more than half is already sustainable from sugar cane alcohol.

The ramifications of rapidly increasing cost of motor fuel are many and especially sever for a society that developed and spread out into a "suburban infrastructure" under the tacit assumption that cheap energy was "forever." The transformation to expensive liquid energy will dominate the future and be quite painful for the US and to slightly less extent EU.

Thus, I am sticking with my prediction, made several years ago, that the run on the dollar comes between October 2008 and October 2014, but the first half of that six year window is looking more probable than the second half now. The extension of that prediction is that the US and EU enter the worst ever depression within a few months of the run against the dollar. That GDP growth in Asia will remain positive, but more like 3 or 4%, not "double digits" as it was "pre-dollar collapse." Countries like Brazil and other suppliers of food stock, raw materials, and energy to Asian nations will become effectively their "economic colonies," but not collapse economically.

Unlike most, who only predict the distant future, you will have the chance to laugh at me or cry for yourselves soon. Thus far, it is all going about as I forecast.
---------------
*As far as I know, no one predicting in 1900 pointed to the "fossil fuels dance" as the most important development coming to the world, but at least they knew then also that the PIPER MUST BE PAID. I am only predicting that he will be.

The developed world has had about a century of the unsustainable "fossil fuel dance."* If not at peak of "Peak Oil" curve it is certainly close. I think we are already slightly turning down just past the peak. On the down side of peak oil, one thing is sure: Rapidly rising prices for mobile fuel, except in Brazil, where more than half is already sustainable from sugar cane alcohol.

The ramifications of rapidly increasing cost of motor fuel are many and especially sever for a society that developed and spread out into a "suburban infrastructure" under the tacit assumption that cheap energy was "forever." The transformation to expensive liquid energy will dominate the future and be quite painful for the US and to slightly less extent EU.

Why can't the US and Europe also switch to sugar ethanol, electric cars, fuel cells, etc? We could generate the electricty with nuclear plants, coal, etc. I've even read that high oil prices make coal to oil technology profitable.

Also, I foresee a bigtime comeback for the railroads. Currently, we transport most goods by truck. A railroad exectutive told me that trucks would need to get over 150 mpg to be as efficient as trains. Instead, they get about 4 mpg.

So return to using trains for transportation of goods across the country and just use trucks for the final few miles. Power the cars/trucks whatever as I mentioned above. Why is this not feasible?

Already train transports are in the planning stage where they can stack the containers. The trouble is that a lot of bridges have to be raised thus adding to the cost. But the process need to move quickly as the plan was set in motion when oil was $70 per barrel.

It is all about leadership.

It is all about leadership.

True. Mitigation for the effect of peak oil is possible, but they need to start yesterday....

More reasons to build more nuclear power plants. But I knew that already.

Why can't the US and Europe also switch to sugar ethanol, electric cars, fuel cells, etc? We could generate the electricty with nuclear plants, coal, etc. I've even read that high oil prices make coal to oil technology profitable.
Also, I foresee a bigtime comeback for the railroads. Currently, we transport most goods by truck. A railroad exectutive told me that trucks would need to get over 150 mpg to be as efficient as trains. Instead, they get about 4 mpg.
So return to using trains for transportation of goods across the country and just use trucks for the final few miles. Power the cars/trucks whatever as I mentioned above. Why is this not feasible? All true, but Syzygys's comment, literally inaccurate, points out why it is not "feasible" now. His "yesterday" was about 50 years ago:

Brazil was under military dictatorship (no environmental review delays then) when they ordered all gasoline stations to install alcohol pumps and storage tanks -50 years later, Brazil is slightly more than half way to running it cars on alcohol only. The US foolishly built the "suburban infrastructure" not the needed railroads, public transport, good urban schools and luxury high-rise apartments it needs for the era of expensive energy. Trying to do so now - is impossible - had to have made different, more intelligent choices at least four decades ago to avoid collapse and civil unrest, which will just make things worse, now.

Food on your table travels more than an average of 1500 miles I recently read (I had estimated it as 500 earlier) Many will have guns and empty bellies. They will look in your basement for something to eat. It may get very ugly. - Certainly, no liberties for anyone. Fuel only for the army, etc. Good thing the government is already planning a "domestic passport." They will be needed at the check points.

As this discussion is diverting the thread, I will answer some of your first paragraph’s questions in a new thread. Probably to be called:
If BRICs are Strong; How is Food & Fuel Sustained? - In the “science and society” forum.