the future

by nick nelson

the future is not here yet and is hard to predict. the track record of the human race in predicting the future is not very good. the most common method of prediction is extrapolation - assuming that things and tendencies which exist and are proliferating in the present will continue to proliferate unchecked in the future. for example, “if the world population continues to increase at its present rate, by the year —————, there will be more people on earth than atoms in the universe.” or, “if the temperature of earth continues to increase at its present rate, by the year —————— the earth will be hotter than the hottest star in the galaxy.” “if the national debt continues to grow at its present rate, by ———————, america will owe 50 trillion dollars per taxpayer.” what happens to these tendencies in “real life”? a) they slow down b) a counter tendency - a reaction to the action - emerges (this is probably a “law of nature”) c) something new and totally unforeseen comes along, which “changes everything”. all that being said, here are my predictions for the future, based on the “best evidence available at this time” . all humans will live in large cities. cities larger than any that exist today. so large that the word “city” will hardly have any meaning. no individual humans will have any role in the day to day operation of anything. “machines” or “a i” or some now inconceivable technology will run everything. if humans exist at all , they will have little resemblance to the humans of today, individual humans will have no physical contact with each other, thus avoiding any opportunities of abusing, exploiting, or oppressing each other. it is very unlikely that “sex” or “gender”, let alone “race” or “nationality”, will exist at all. if humans get “old’ and/or need to reproduce, they will be cloned or reproduced by a now unforeseen technology. each human will have their own space, and each space will be exactly the same size, and have the same constant temperature, and be supplied with the same amounts of water, oxygen, and protein, assuming that the future humans require such things. what, if anything, will the humans “do all day”? this may be the ultimate, and the most difficult question for a contemporary human to try to answer. will they make some sort of art? what would it be about? will they sleep, and dream, all day? practice “lucid dreaming”? what would they dream about? will they engage in politics? again, about what? will they engage in some sort of sports or contests? this would open up the possibility of injustice, unfairness, abuse, oppression, etc. * what do i think the chances are that these predictions will come true? the answer - zero. because the first rule of prediction is - if it can be predicted, it will not happen. thank you.