It's often amusing to gaze back into the far past to see what futurists had predicted for the present times -- and how far off they were. But, such is often the way when one tries to guess, based on less than perfect information and understanding -- about such an astounding, dynamic state of existence as ours is proving to be.
Still, it makes great sense to try to see as far-distant as our faculties and present perspectives allow. It's more than just idle curiosity, but that is a factor. But, trying to imagine life beyond our own life-spans can help us make the most of the time we've been allotted. To answer the nagging questions, "what's the point of it all?" and "where is this all leading?" and "why should I believe I matter?"
From what I think I've been learning over near and distant time, I believe the following guesses are not unreasonable. Time will tell. Meanwhile I have need to venture them forward. For, I expect to use them, rely on them, until a clearer perspective can be attained. All is in the hands of time.
A FUTURE I WOULD LOVE TO SEE
-- BUT PROBABLY WON'T, IN MY TIME.
BUT EVENTUALLY, APPROXIMATELY
-- THIS SHALL MATERIALIZE, I'M SURE
-- AS FATE PERMITS AND ENABLES.
(I can't see it going any other way, unless fate strikes some terrible blow.)
1. HEALTHY life-spans will double -- REPEATEDLY -- personal and collective wisdom will continue to grow -- social systems will continue to mature -- but living such prolonged existences, without becoming bored, will become a serious (but solvable) challenge. Fortunately, growth in wisdom is likely to keep pace among our maturing selves.
2. Overpopulation of the universe is a far, far distant threat -- of no practical concern to the human species -- presuming that human existence could even endure to explore, develop, and exploit the sheer vastness of it all. The universe holds the answer to our over-population and resource-scarcity concerns -- everywhere -- under wise stewardship of ever-advancing humanity.
3. The world will become completely multi-lingual (all languages will eventually merge into one universal -- probably a form of English -- (solving a great many problems)) -- an INEVITABILITY as The Internet fully permeates and changes the entire species -- and creates better and better opportunities and greater need for constructive global interactions -- and as ease and freedom of travel continue to mature and reduce the divisive human "time and distance" problem. Excuses and causes for disagreement will diminish.
4. Government forms found to be inferior to democracy will disappear (evolve out of existence) -- as unsustainable -- within any universally enlightened, complex, rational life-form. The nations will continue to mature and unite more and more tightly and harmoniously. Democracy will continue to evolve, driven by the self-perfecting impulses -- and ever-increasing understanding as to the ways of reality -- and as the absurdities of error are all systematically detected and settled.
5. Space travel and colonization will increase the life-options and opportunities for all -- as scarcity of resources continue to lessen -- fed from beyond terrestrial bounds -- as we figure out how to make our reach for the stars a practical reality -- and the ability to detect and preserve that which is invaluable develops without conceivable limit (except as posed by the laws of nature and the moods of fate).
6. All social ills will be cured by the concentration of human power being achieved -- enabled (even forced) by "The Internet Revolution" and -- the growing size and quality of the human knowledge base that can be brought to bear in any given case. Everything driven relentlessly forward by the human rational impulse toward the good.
7. All religious contradictions will be settled as the human species matures to its next levels.
8. Human well-being and betterment will become universally embraced as all the objective morality we ever need -- and will over-arch virtually all individual natures and behaviors -- in all rational (i.e. not insane) and increasingly enlightened minds.
9. The ever-deepening common spirit of human well-being and betterment will overcome all serious, divisive differences -- as mutual understanding, trust, and confidence deepen -- species-wide -- and as ignorance of our best natures and possibilities continues to diminish.
10. The world will become its best, as human existence becomes optimized -- and all the good that can be humanly done, will be.
Thus spake my crystal ball this morning. And, with such presumed clarity (for now) -- duty becomes clearer.
We are privileged to belong to such a remarkable species!
David Nelson
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