| Future Tech
Posted: 4/19/2009 12:48:01 PM | | So we've seen a computer age, space age, information age, and atomic age born in the span of a person's life. What do you see as the 'next big thing' in term of technological breakthrough and subsequent social reorganization? | |
|
| Future Tech
Posted: 4/19/2009 1:05:00 PM | carbon nano tubes mass produced...erm to make stuff.
and delish with some salt and a splash of vinegar
(though i would point out civilisation has been here before - but I guess its dependent on the interpreter) | |
|
| Future Tech
Posted: 4/19/2009 1:12:47 PM | Computers that work like brains....
and there not that far away, I follow the research
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyLYQYHGbvI | |
|
bub84
|
Joined: 4/10/2009
Msg: 4 | |
| Future Tech
Posted: 4/19/2009 1:33:37 PM | | I'm guessing the next major technological revolution will have to revolve around social, political and cultural issues. The computer age isn't over, neither is the information age or any other age that you listed. Those are just the prime characteristics of modernization. | |
|
| Future Tech
Posted: 4/19/2009 2:30:18 PM | Technology that helps the disabled to function by allowing them to control devices with their brain waves will be expanded upon to benefit all and grant us all abilities that were previously out of reach for humans.
Think night (and x-ray) vision, superhuman strength, the ability to leap tall buildings, etc.... | |
|
| Future Tech
Posted: 4/19/2009 5:52:34 PM | | I think one of the next Technology that will be a big deal is alternative fuels. While there are many different technologies in development what is needing to be addressed is what will have the most important global impact right now. So many countries economics are controlled by oil prices from third world countries and auto-manufacturers which also have a direct impact on the worlds eco-system. Global warming is an issue that is only getting worse and auto-manufacturers are suffering from poor economies which is costing people jobs and only making the economy worse. However if ther5e was to be a revolution in alternative fuels it could help jump-start the economy and also help the enviorment in the sense that pollutants would be reduced and make tree huggers happy while there would be new jobs created from a new technology and also there wouldnt be such political issues over oil and would have a global impact on country relations. The benefits would far outweigh the downfalls that could result. But this is just my 2 cents, i am somehwhat biased since im in the auto industry after all lol | |
|
| Future Tech
Posted: 4/19/2009 5:57:24 PM | | We will have a total breakdown of society and have to reinvent the wheel. | |
|
| Future Tech
Posted: 4/19/2009 6:36:51 PM | ...............what i see coming soon (20-50 years) is the benefits of stem cell research on many disease and physical limitation.
...........computer-wise, the "quantum computer" is something that is being looked into, although a lot of other technology required to make it a reality hasn't been invented (so i hear).............once created it could outperform the fastest present day computer by unimaginable speeds.....though it may take 2 perhaps 3 future generations to achieve it. | |
|
| Future Tech
Posted: 4/19/2009 10:09:29 PM | If you would have asked me a year or two ago, I'd say colonization of space near Earth, but with the way politics are moving I think such an attempt would end with a man made disaster over some trivial concept of what parts of space belong to what major power (I'm sure they already debate this). Our history is diluted with examples of groups attempting to move into a newly discovered land, ignorantly claiming that land belongs to them, and charging into battle over a flawed concept that's been proven to be a futile line of thinking hundreds of times over. I'm sure we'll take that ignorance into the space near Earth, the surface of the Moon, the surface of Mars, and then the regions of the Kuiper Belt as soon as the opportunity presents itself to do so.
As far as technology, we'll see a rise in organic and light based systems. Already we have the organic LED displays which have proven to be much more efficient and effective than traditional crystal and plasma based displays; a circuit etched into glass; and a means of determining surface geometry at a nanoscopic level using light alone as the mapping mechanism. Extreme miniaturization of common circuits that are still relatively bulky, just look at the progress of micro-processors, they dropped to 1/10th their width/depth alone (no clue on height) in just the last 10 years, and are now facing being reduced to the scale of atoms.
As far as weapons I'm expecting to see more defensive weapons and less destructive weapons being developed and put into use. Weapons that focus on being able to take more prisoners to use on the negotiation table. And sadly weapons that can inflict intense pain without any permanent effects on the body to be used in torture, I'm expecting this one to provide a huge world-wide debate over their implementation and use. | |
|
| Future Tech
Posted: 4/19/2009 10:18:37 PM | Actually , all these 'ages' are best summed up as the high-tech age (or , the focus on it anyway)
As for what's coming next , it looks like the next "theme" will be one of ethics and crisis.
It's tough to argue that we're pushing the limits of what this planet can handle from us whether it's population , global warming , or just pollution in general.
As for us , we're moving in a million different directions at the same time and doing little to monitor the state of the changing dynamic.
For example , we're more or less focused on controlling population growth and it appears that there's some good news on that front. At the same time , we're trying to push the limits of human longevity. Obviously extending the human lifetime will negate the benefits of reigning in the rate of new births. Fewer people born does nothing to control overall population growth if everybody sticks around longer. So what can we do and will we accept it when we have to take draconian measures ?
Will we sacrifice our standard of living for a healthy environment ? The answer should be obvious but most people don't realize what this actually entails. We're not just talking about taking a bus if we reach a real crisis point we're talking about having to bring it all to a standstill. Some would prefer to remain optimistic that there's no real problem (and maybe there isn't) but if they're wrong , we fry or shut it all down.
Of course the list is endless and for every issue we choose to refute as an issue , there are ten more behind it to take it's place. It appears that crisis is inevitable.
Just in terms of technological breakthroughs , the only thing we can reasonably see coming down the pike is a complete understanding of the genetic code. That should keep us busy for a while. | |
|
| Future Tech
Posted: 4/19/2009 10:45:36 PM | | Nanotechnology and the various uses it can possibly be used for in everything from fashion or health care. | |
|
| Future Tech
Posted: 4/19/2009 11:42:35 PM | | I think if you look back the only constant with stuff like this is you have no clue what is coming next until it happens, and when people predict what is coming next they are virtually always wrong. | |
|
| Future Tech
Posted: 4/20/2009 1:34:44 AM | | We are heading for the Nano-Human Optic Age. Ford has a car they are testing made up of nano Bots used as a polymer like paint and it can repair scratches and mild dents. Also if you dont like your cars color that day you can change that too using this new nano technology. Also the idea of watching tv and surfing the net using your mind and eyes as screen is not far off maybe 12 years or so. Honda has a robot that you can control with your thoughts, I find that wicked. Most of this new tech is derived from the military. | |
|
| Future Tech
Posted: 4/20/2009 2:02:52 AM | | I’m sure it will be something hideous, like mandatory rental and inner ear implants so they can make you sit through advertisements all day and night without escape. That would be a nice capitalist thing to do. | |
|
| Future Tech
Posted: 4/20/2009 2:33:43 AM | | Its somthing like an implant in the back of the head that uses wireless internet and send the info to a high tech nano contact lense in your eye. And im willing to bet that some very bad things can be done with it. you know like the government going Big Brother on you. They will mostlikley have a wirless hardrive that recrods video of everything you do for your entire life so they can prosicute you if you break the law. Also using the wirless signal as a wireless ank account so you can buy things in stores without money. | |
|
| Future Tech
Posted: 4/20/2009 4:17:02 AM | | Danboy I really doubt we have to worry about anyone recording our entire lifespans on video any time soon, even with the absolute cutting edge encoding techniques video simply has to much data to record just a year of one person in a reliable medium, let alone the entire population of a city, a state, a country. | |
|
| Future Tech
Posted: 4/20/2009 11:12:36 AM | The next big things on the horizon are the Nano technolgical revolution, that began about ten years ago and should realy take off in the next ten to fifteen years or so.
Then we have the quantum processing revolution. This began with fibre optics but will expand into q-bit data storage and eventually true AI. Expect this technology around 30 to 40 years from now.
After that we will reach the Genetic revolution.This is when we expect technology to be advanced enough to alow us to build and modify living things. This technology is potentially plausable at pressent, but will not be realisticly possible for at least 50 years, but expect it be more along the lines of 80 to 100 years from now.
These are just the comon predictions of what should be posibleif technology continues to advance at a steady pace to the modern, however the likelyhood of that is quite slim. | |
|
| Future Tech
Posted: 4/21/2009 2:21:08 AM | | It will probably be in materials science and biotechnology. The understanding of evolution and genetics seems to be making great strides. | |
|
Home
login 
