A Glimpse
into the Future
Fifty years from today will seem
like a page out of a science fiction novel. Humans will live well into their
100s if not 200s. Lethal diseases will be easily corrected. Technology will allow both organisms and
objects to be created. The green movement will revolutionize city life. Despite the paradigm shift, we will still be
human.
In half a
century people will experience supernatural health. The lifespan of humans has
always been increasing, but in a mere 50 years people will routinely surpass a
100 (Smoot 5). Triple digits will become possible through, “Nanotechnologies
the size of atoms [which will] transform cancer treatments by infiltrating and
destroying cancer cells” (Brinker 138). The
harmful side effect usually associated with deadly disease will be a thing of
the past “because the drugs will be especially designed for each patient” (Restak
75). But treatment does not begin with the diagnosis. Before a child enters the
world, we will “be able to predict his or her predisposition to heart disease,
mental illness, and a range of other maladies” (Ciechanover 129). While this
will help those yet to be born fend off most sicknesses, those who already
exist still have hope for a better life. Richard Clark predicts, “Decades
from now, replacing organs grown from our own stem cells may also be routine” (71).
This stem cell advancement would allow people of all ages to replace organs that
are malfunctioning. A heart or kidney transplant would no longer involve a long
waiting list that some cannot endure. New
organs would allow life to be expanded significantly and the quality of life
enjoyed to be greater. Such advances causes Dawkins to think that science “will destroy the
mystical absurdity of souls being detached from bodies” (209). Without a soul,
the purpose of life will vanish. “But people will still be searching for
answers to the meaning of life, and most of us will continue to find comfort
and joy by discovering God’s love and grace, (Collins 6).”
Everyday life in the future will consist
of a plethora of occurrences that would astound the world today. It will not be unusual to have the family dog
constructed rather than conceived (Mack 114). Young children will be regular drivers
of cars with, “anti-crash sensors surrounding them” (165). The future earth will
have to sustain a population of over nine billion people (Canton 192-193). The
increased population would leave a lethal ecological footprint but energy from
fossil fuels will be replaced with “energy technologies including solar,
wind, wave, biomass, nuclear and fuel cells.” (Energy). This switch will only be the
beginning of the green revolution. China
is one of several countries building cities of the future. “Dongtan aims
to reduce its water needs by using technologies such as green roofs — building
tops covered with plants — to capture and filter rainwater and by recycling
sewage and other waste to fertilize and irrigate nearby farms”(Cass). Water conservation and clean energy will be the only
options. Still, some environment issues will persist.
A glimpse into the next half a
century would shock even the savviest individual. People will experience an advance health care
system that begins before birth. They will live to ages which are now inconceivable.
Their daily life will constitute numerous of technologies that will make life
easier and help the plant. Despite the
sci-fi image, humans will not be robots. They will still be human with the
capacity to love, hate, and want. Yet
people of the future will not be at all like those of the past. Life spans of centuries and inventions will
change the social environment. The consequences or benefits of such a lifestyle
will have to be discovered and dealt with in the future.
Brinker, Nancy G. “A World without Breast Cancer.” The
way we will be 50 years from today: 60 of the
world's
greatest minds share their vision of the next half century. Wallace, M. Nashville:
Thomas
Nelson,
2008. 136-140.
Canton, James. “Some Words from ‘Dr. Future”. The way we will be 50 years from today: 60 of
the
world's greatest minds share
their vision of the next half century. Wallace, M. Nashville: Thomas Nelson,
2008. 192-196.
Cass, Stephen. "Future City Dongtan." Discover Oct2008, Vol. 29
Issue 10, p60-60, 1/2p, 1 color
Ciechanover, Aaron. “The Paradox.” The way we will be 50
years from today: 60 of the world's greatest
minds share their vision of the
next half century. Wallace, M. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2008. 128-130.
Clark, Richard. “What Does it Mean to be Human.” The way
we will be 50 years from today: 60 of the
world's greatest minds share
their vision of the next half century. Wallace, M. Nashville: Thomas Nelson,
2008. 68-73.
Collins, Francis S. “A Revolution in Medicine.” The way
we will be 50 years from today: 60 of the
world's greatest minds share
their vision of the next half century. Wallace, M. Nashville: Thomas Nelson,
2008. 4-6.
Dawkins, Richard. “The Future of the Soul.” The way we
will be 50 years from today: 60 of the
world's greatest minds share
their vision of the next half century. Wallace, M. Nashville: Thomas Nelson,
2008. 206-209.
" Energy conference to illustrate Abu
Dhabi's 'Vision 2030'." Arabia 2000.24 Sept. 2008.
Mack, Tim. “Snapshot of a World with the New Nation of
California.” The way we will be 50 years from
today: 60 of the world's greatest
minds share their vision of the next half century. Wallace, M. Nashville:
Thomas Nelson, 2008. 112-115.
Restak, Richard. “A Brain Scientist’s Perspective.” The
way we will be 50 years from today: 60 of the
world's greatest minds share
their vision of the next half century. Wallace, M. Nashville: Thomas Nelson,
2008. 74-77.
Smoot, George F. “ A Tiny Dot in Cosmic Time; A Big
Period in Human Time.” The way we will be 50 years
from today: 60 of the world's
greatest minds share their vision of the next half century. Wallace, M. Nashville:
Thomas Nelson, 2008. 7-10.