The Way We Will Be 50 Years from Today: 60 of the World's Greatest Minds Share Their Visions of the Next Half Century

by Mike Wallace

Book Overview

The world is an uncertain place, which is why the future and the unknown absolutely fascinate us. Veteran television journalist Mike Wallace asked the question "What will life be like 50 years from now?" to sixty of the world's greatest minds. Their responses offer a fascinating glimpse into the cultural, scientific, political, and spiritual moods of the times. Edited and with an introduction by Mike Wallace, this book provides an imaginative and...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 084990370X
• ISBN13: 9780849903700
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Length: 241 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Great look good and bad, into what may be!

I found the book very interesting and enjoyable; each essay was like a short story, and a pleasure to read. Some were optimistic and some were sobering and scary. Some seemed quite possible base on events of today, we shall see. I am looking forward to my 100th birthday in 2058. I liked the book all the work was well written.

The Reader Will Make the Predictions Here!

This fascinating book offers the forecasts of 60 leaders about what our lives will be like in 2050. The ideas of people of science, conservation, computers, medicine, technology, and more will give you much to think about. If you're looking for a book to tell you the answers or create a science fiction visualization, this book is not the one you want. If you're looking for a book that will tease your brain, scare the heck out of you, and make you realize that YOU have to take responsibility for the future, then you'll love this book. Brain scientist Richard Restak believes that 40 years from now we will be concerned about the ethics of using "technology to stimulate healthy mental states in as many people as possible in the interest of creating a more harmonious society" (p. 76). Former security and terrorism coordinator Richard Clarke believes that in the future, "People will have so many computers in their bodies and such connectivity to networks with AI [artificial intelligence] systems that there will be questions about where the line is between humans and machines" (p. 72). Some of the authors are quite creative in their ideas and the way they write about them. You'll find insights into some interesting scholarship and research. You will find much to contemplate from cultural, societal, ethical, and individual perspectives. The brief and diverse perspectives will help you figure out what you want to see in your future.

Looking ahead

I like to hear from people who are moving us ahead in areas I know little about. Their titles don't necessarily impress me, but their brains do. Genetics, pharmacology, bioethics, international police organizations, physics, these are all things I don't normally think much about. It is both fascinating and scary to hear what they have to say about the future. I hope we can deal with it.

futurism

It was pleasant and comforting to read the views of my favorite scientific personalities. It was at the same time rewarding and entertaining. The topics may have been serious but the reading was simple, fluid and easy.

We need new leaders to confront global problems

The list of personalities who contribute to this book is impressive, including several Nobel Prize winners in Physics, Medicine, Chemistry , Economics and Peace. The most clear-sighted say that the future is essentially unpredictable ("the hallmark of science has been unanticipated great leaps"), but there are two main conclusions: we need a new political leadership ( "there is a lack of vision in global affairs", something more acute in the US, of course) and they and we need to take care of some major problems: energy, water and food supplies, climate change, demography, health problems (obesity and its derivatives being a prominent one). Then, there are a few somewhat surprising statements: -Most mental illnesses will be proven to be of microbial origin (transmitted by animals) -People will live over 140 years of quality life -AIDS will be fought with an anti-HIV virus -We will know the exact positions and velocities of a 100 billion galaxies -We will have clones (but they will be distinct from us) -In order that in 2058 all humans enjoy the standards of living enjoyed now by the West you need to build one Gigawatt power plant every single day for 40 years -We will recreate life in the laboratory -There will be intelligent self-programmable machines that will evolve much faster than us so we will be forced to become hybrids (cyborgs) -There will be methods to convert CO2 directly to useful fuels -In the future medicine will be predictive, personalized, preemptive and participatory -We will download 3D blueprints and simple solid products will be nanoassembled at home -A lot of people will spend a lot of time immersed in virtual reality (Second Life Plus) -Neurological and psychiatric illnesses will be cured -Replacing organs grown from our stem cells will be routine -Driving to work will be mostly a thing of the past (telecommuting) Optimistic forecasts: -Science is going to kill the soul stone dead (Dawkins) -We will understand subjective consciousness (also Dawkins, this might be more realistic), but others doubt it ("I doubt that the code of consciousness will be cracked") -We will recreate life in the laboratory -Intelligent extraterrestrials will be discovered in the next 100 years And pessimistic forecasts: -Pandemics -Bio and nuclear terrorism -Christian and Islamic fundamentalism could bring us to a Dark Age (we could lose our way as it happened when the library in Alexandria was destroyed) -Crowded cities will be jungles of crime And outlandish forecasts: -Flying cars -Flying shoes -A global network of maglevs -California will be a nation And some nasty facts: -Carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere for 100 years -42% of Americans over 85 have Alzheimer's disease -If you stay in a hospital you have a 15% chance of getting an infection Reminders of sensible principles: -Where goods do not cross frontiers, armies will Finally: The XXIst century technologies will be: information technology, life sciences, nanotechnology and ne