People have always been intrigued by what the future will be like. The answers are quite simple and here they are for the next 50 years.
How can we know what the future will be like?
In order to understand the future, you must know the past. What has gotten us to where we are today and what has changed along the way. The world has changed a lot in the last 150 years, but we humans are driven by the same basic needs we had 150 years ago: food, sleep, sex, the feeling of being appreciated and loved. Will this change in the next 150 years? No.
What inventions have really made a difference in the last 150 years?
If you take away all the gadgets that people in some part of the world use for entertainment, the inventions that have affected the most people in the world for daily life are the telephone, electricity, radio, television, the computer, automobile, and the ability to communicate over the Internet. Then, of course, we have many inventions that have made life easier, such as new medicines, faster transportation, etc.
In general, the inventions of the last 150 years have been a human struggle for freedom and communication, to be able to control time and the world. Since much remains to be done in this area, this will be the focus for at least the next 150 years.
But why do we need to predict the future?
Predicting the future is important for two reasons; We must first start thinking about what kind of future we would like for ourselves and pass on to the next generation, and then we must know what decisions we must make today that will yield the best result in the future.
Will we ever have those flying cars in the future that I saw in the photos as a kid?
Flying cars are one example of a scenario that has been imagined for the future for a long time. It’s a cool and exciting concept, but is it realistic? To begin with we must find out if there is a basic need, what are the pros and cons. Then we have to think about the system we have today, the cars on the road, and the transition to a new system. For it to work in this example, we need two parallel systems, with a road network for the flying cars at the same time as the common road network. Even if the flying cars are upgraded to be suitable for city traffic, the investments would be huge for a city to implement this, as well as for households to get that extra vehicle. So even if all the pros are there, the practical steps for such a new route are too difficult to overcome, so sorry, there will be no road network for flying cars in the next 50 years.
What about virtual worlds, do I need to go on vacation in the future or just make every cell in my body experience an artificial vacation?
In the future, it might be possible to experience the sand between your toes, feel the ocean salt on your lips, hear the waves and smell the seaweed, just by lying in bed at home. But we can’t trick the mind so that no matter how real the experience feels, you’ll always know it didn’t really happen. That will make all the difference. You can tell people today that you have seen the pyramids in Egypt because you have seen a picture of them, but you will never have the feeling of being there. Therefore, even if there is a great invention at an affordable price, it will never replace the common experience if it is not genuine.
Please tell me that we will be contacting some aliens in the near future…
Most likely, there is other life in the Universe considering there are billions of solar systems. As far as our solar system is about 4.6 billion years old, other civilizations could be 10 million or even 1 billion years ahead of us. With these numbers in mind, there is no greater chance that they will contact us in the next 50 years than in 100,000 years, and with the size of the Universe we probably won’t be able to make any contact with them during this time.
So what will the future look like then?
What we will see in the next 50 years is the transition from an oil-dependent society, new medicine, the first steps in the development of artificial intelligence, continued space exploration, more people dying of AIDS, hopefully a better state for the world’s poor, climate change challenges, and new inventions that make life a little easier and more fun for some.
How should I do then so that the future is great?
Well, as you know, the winner in life is not the one who has the most money when he dies, the winner is the person who sleeps the best at night. To feel good about yourself and the people around you, listen to them and show them the love and respect they deserve as human beings and help those in need. That’s what will matter when you go to bed at night 50 years from now and hopefully give you a good night’s sleep.