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I'd like to know everyone's honest opinion on this matter.
In the future, do you think humanity can truly reach the level a lot of the Sci-Fi tales represent? Flying cars, spaceships, hoverboards, laser guns, galactic civilization etc. etc.
OR do you think that, eventually, modern civilization will collapse upon itself and all technological progress will come to a halt?
My opinion is that I'm almost certain that it will all collapse before we could get even close to becoming futuristic. Just like Ancient Rome, it seems like modern civilization has already reached its peak and is just going south.
Plus Side:
-Technology will continue to advance.
-Toys will get better (both big boy and little boy)
-People will continue to become more tolerant of those that are different from themselves.
Down Side:
- The end of an oil driven economy.... gas prices will be very high and people and businesses will move back to central locations.
- Water shortages. Humans will be forced to recognize that we cannot control nature, because of this, they will have to stop trying to turn desert cities into oasis-es. In the future, parts of Phoenix will look like the bad parts of Detroit today.
Location: WNY (NOT NYC for the geographically challenged)
70 posts, read 135,627 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Vatikan
I'd like to know everyone's honest opinion on this matter.
In the future, do you think humanity can truly reach the level a lot of the Sci-Fi tales represent? Flying cars, spaceships, hoverboards, laser guns, galactic civilization etc. etc.
OR do you think that, eventually, modern civilization will collapse upon itself and all technological progress will come to a halt?
My opinion is that I'm almost certain that it will all collapse before we could get even close to becoming futuristic. Just like Ancient Rome, it seems like modern civilization has already reached its peak and is just going south.
Your thoughts?
I completely agree. It's crazy to think that not even 50 years ago, people imagined all those sci-fi inventions and more would be commonplace in 2000, let alone now. With all the war and violence and greed going on in the world, we most certainly will destroy ourselves before any "futuristic utopia" comes about. I just hope I can learn the truth of the existence of extraterrestrial life before this happens.
I completely agree. It's crazy to think that not even 50 years ago, people imagined all those sci-fi inventions and more would be commonplace in 2000, let alone now. With all the war and violence and greed going on in the world, we most certainly will destroy ourselves before any "futuristic utopia" comes about. I just hope I can learn the truth of the existence of extraterrestrial life before this happens.
Yeah if you watch some old sci-fi movies from the 80's the future is set in like late 90's and early 2000's and it's either post-apocalyptic and/or there's a bunch of crazy gadgets that seem far-fetched even by today's standards.
That's the main reason I think the world will be post-apocalyptic. There's many possibilities, from either the government getting so crooked that there'll be a revolutionary uprising to World War 3.
Plus Side:
-Technology will continue to advance.
-Toys will get better (both big boy and little boy)
-People will continue to become more tolerant of those that are different from themselves.
Down Side:
- The end of an oil driven economy.... gas prices will be very high and people and businesses will move back to central locations.
- Water shortages. Humans will be forced to recognize that we cannot control nature, because of this, they will have to stop trying to turn desert cities into oasis-es. In the future, parts of Phoenix will look like the bad parts of Detroit today.
Westernwilly; I agree with most of your ideas, but not all.
Computer tech will continue to advance.
Robotics will change a majority of the lower paying jobs (just saw a news video at a local green house that has several robots that work 24/7/365 and they are only $25,000 each). Even per the employees there, the robots are faster and do a better job. Fast food will become automated. Manufacturing will drastically increase the automation as it becomes cheaper. I would guess that we could see a 80% decrease in robot costs over the next decade.
Just read an article that said that the US is using 75% less gasoline for consumer use then we did in 1996. I have difficulty believing 75% but I would believe 30% by the charts I have seen. I think this trend will continue. People are moving back to the city or closer to their job. California has had a big enough decrease in fuel tax revenue that they are talking about taxing mileage driven to make up the difference.
The middle class will slowly disappear and with it will be our culture, this will take decades and will be slow enough to not be noticed by most.
Fresh water will be the biggest emergency and will be serious within years. This will make the Southwest of the US a wasteland after the population of the Southwest moves to the East. California will have a very serious problem.
Food prices will YOY increase to the point of causing some starvation among the lower income. This will cause rioting. If you think that riots could not happen in this country (USA) then you need a history lessen. I'm old enough to have been in the riots of the 60's.
I can continue but I'm not trying to right a book, just a post for a forum.
Interestingly enough, I was pondering over very similar question driving to work, which is about an hour.
It came upon me that truly, space exploration is simply not achievable unless entire planet unites. Too expensive. Too much resources needed. Too much investment for the money bags to put in and too, way too long to recover such investments. Hence, unless it's entire humanity effort, not concerned with money and profit, then, maybe just then, a ONE reasonable space ship may be developed and launched.
This tunes along OP's Q. No, it will be what it always was. Humanity comes to a particular level of development, then either self destroys and starts over, going through savagery and decay or, mother nature gets fed up with humanity and gives it a few slaps on buttocks, resulting in same.
Or, the so called scientists, that will let any gene out of the box for the sake of experiment, will come up with something that will do the slap. Or, Anniston Chemical Weapons depot in AL will get a leak.
Whatever it will be, it will be just another spoke in eternal wheel of ups and downs of humanity.
I completely agree. It's crazy to think that not even 50 years ago, people imagined all those sci-fi inventions and more would be commonplace in 2000, let alone now. With all the war and violence and greed going on in the world, we most certainly will destroy ourselves before any "futuristic utopia" comes about. I just hope I can learn the truth of the existence of extraterrestrial life before this happens.
Actually there's much less violence of most kinds today than there was 50 years ago.
Plus Side:
-Technology will continue to advance.
-Toys will get better (both big boy and little boy)
-People will continue to become more tolerant of those that are different from themselves.
Down Side:
- The end of an oil driven economy.... gas prices will be very high and people and businesses will move back to central locations.
- Water shortages. Humans will be forced to recognize that we cannot control nature, because of this, they will have to stop trying to turn desert cities into oasis-es. In the future, parts of Phoenix will look like the bad parts of Detroit today.
Add to Down Side:
- Monitoring, tracking, and control by international, federal, state, and local governments as well as large corporations will be ubiquitous and inescapable due to radical advances in technology
Food prices will YOY increase to the point of causing some starvation among the lower income. This will cause rioting. If you think that riots could not happen in this country (USA) then you need a history lessen. I'm old enough to have been in the riots of the 60's.
It is a little hard to respond to this claim because I am not very clear of the time-frame you are using to suggest that water and food will be a problem in the future.
This is clearly incorrect as we have a history of improving our food generation (or farming) techniques. Genetically modified crops changed how we plant food. And already, we have the preliminary techniques to start creating synthetic meat in the lab.
- Monitoring, tracking, and control by international, federal, state, and local governments as well as large corporations will be ubiquitous and inescapable due to radical advances in technology
And who is to say that you will not have the technology to track them too?
There will be a point in our technological advancement graph where hiding and tracking things will be considered pre-historic ideas. Once advanced technology is available to everyone, there is not much anyone can hide. And maybe that is a good thing.
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