What Does The Future Hold For Us? Moving beyond the use of fossil fuels? Awesome inventions and cures for diseases? Colonizing the Moon and Mars? Or does a dystopian period marked by war, famine, disease, pollution, and mass starvation await us as we exhaust our natural resources? What do the Futurists and Visionaries say?
Futurists: Think Tanks consisting of theoretical physicists, economists, architects, sociologists, and technology experts attempt to predict what our immediate and long-term future holds and what we should do now to either avoid catastrophe or position ourselves to move forward.
Visionaries: Experience the future through dreams or supernatural means with little or no regard for what is actually possible. Nostradamus is considered to be a visionary. So are the prophets of the Old and New Testaments.
What Lies Ahead: Will there be a second Age of Enlightenment? Will innovations in the Nano-Bio-IT-Neuro sciences change our lives, economy, and culture and help to secure our future? Or will they be the accelerants that send mankind back to the Stone Age? This is an excellent topic to Google.
Theme For Opening: As I researched this very topic, I thought I would use this theme as the driving force behind the antagonists stealing the breakthrough in wormholes in order to implement their vision to change the world and place its future in the hands of a scientific oligarchy. They have a disdain for the current state of the world and a vision to replace current failures caused by inefficient governments, large greedy global conglomerates, and even larger banking institutions.
They believe physics, biochemistry, and nanotechnology should replace government, corporations, and religion, at least as we know them to presently exist. They feel science is government, corporations, and religion all packaged together.
We Live In Exciting Times! Our world is changing right before us at breakneck speed. Our planet is becoming a much smaller place. CERN and other research and development centers around the world are on the cusp of discovering wonderful and awesome breakthroughs in physics, biochemistry, and nanotechnology (all of which I use in OPENING).
Question: Will mankind use these inevitable discoveries to further civilization? Or will they be used to pad the pockets of an elite few and sell us out? Please leave your thoughts in the COMMENTS.
If you feel this post is worthy, please Tweet or share on Facebook if you feel so inspired. Thanks for stopping by!
Stephen Tremp is author of the recently released suspense thriller OPENING, the second book in the BREAKTHROUGH series. You can visit Stephen at Breakthrough Blogs. Opening and Breakthrough are available for download at:
Amazon for $1.99
Smashwords for $1.99
44 comments:
I'm voting for a second period of enlightenment. Unless the solar flares or the passing of earth through the universal equivalent of the equator gets us first :)
.........dhole
Oh such deep thinking and thoughts required for a Monday! LOL!!
I want a Star-Trek like future without any baddies! Hello Stephen, hello Wistful Nebulae! Take care
x
This is a great post, I have popped it on digg too because my friends don't read the stuff I leave on fb lol
Thanks Mary for having me on your site today! I find this topic fascinating and a lot of fun to stay abreast. Thanks Anna for the pop on Digg.
I can see an elitist and wealthy scientific regime using military force and extreme, brutal, almost paranoid measures to keep the technology out of the hands of the masses on the pretense of doing what they think is good for the world. I'm feeling a little pessimistic today....
I'm just coming off of reading The Windup Girl, so I'm not in the most optimistic of moods concerning the future.
They'll claim it's for advancements but it will all come down to money.
Thanks for this great article today, Stephen.
Mankind has very dark tendencies, but I like to be optimistic and believe those who reach to be something greater will win out in the end.
But I fear Alex is right.
Don't worry, Donna. There are arks in China someplace.
That would be a nice future, Anna.
Tonja, I fear that, too.
LG, I can understand that. Although The Windup Girl was a great read, it didn't leave me feeling very optimistic either.
In answer to the question I think it will be both, which is usually the way things work.
He was ridiculed for it, but I liked Newt Gingrich's futuristic vision for colonizing the moon. Like he indicated, commercial enterprise ventures will lead that drive in the most economical and practical sense.
Lee
Tossing It Out
Look at all the dystopia novels coming out. Things are not looking good. Science might be the answer, but I fear greed just takes over.
This topic will gather lots of differing and passionate views and responses. I love talking about this. And it can offer lots of inspiration for books and movies too.
Good question Stephen. I'd like to think that we would all move forward together in a positive fashion, but being a student of history, the human race does not have the best track record.
As Arlee states, I see it as a mix.
I think it with either be a 2nd Enlightenment or a Dark Ages.
I will be reading these books as soon as I clear the table some. They sound right up my alley.
I'm all for colonizing the Moon, too, Arlee. If we don't kill ourselves first, I think it's inevitable that we'll have to leave Earth some day. That's a first step.
Seem to be the way it works, Jay. Damn.
It is great inspiration, Stephen.
Very true, Slamdunk. It probably will end up a mix.
I hope not the Dark Ages, Southpaw.
I have a big pile in the corner of my office, Michael. And more & more titles on the Nook, piling up.
After following Battle Star Gallatica from beginning to end on Netflix I'm a tad more pessimistic about us starting over on a new planet on than I was before I saw it.
How Dark can a Age become, do you think?
This topic is one I'm passionately interested in. In fact, I've just started a story about this sort of thing. Man's future is in the hands of science, but man's greed could kill us all.
Good post! I will be adding these books to my "to buy" list, Stephen.
slamdunk, sometimes its one step forward and two steps back.
Southpaw, one extreme or the other, eh? That's the way a lot of people see it.
Michael, thanks! I'm confident you won;t be disappointed.
cleemckenzie, Einstein stated he did not know how WWIII would be fought, but was confident WWIV would be fought with sticks and stones.
Karen, I incorporate greed as one of the main drivers (and incompetence) in my books. Thanks for your interest!
I'm like Old Kitty, I immediately thought of Star Trek. It's so much more positive than other futuristic projections of what mankind will become.
I'm afraid that big business will be the ultimate winner!
I really hope to be around for some of the amazing advances on the horizon (or event horizon).
Loved the first book, already bought the second one and hoping to get it started right away!
Arlee referenced Newt's moon colony idea above ... but I've been judging a LOT of high school POLICY DEBATE competitions on a similar topic of deep space exploration and whether or not the government should put resources toward it ... our HS students think the world could end in 15 minutes - - whether it's from lack of cyber defenses (triggering a nuclear attack) or solar flares or whatever ... maybe we should colonize the moon so that a handful of us are still alive after everyone else is dead on earth ... sheesh!
Even Stephen's book covers get my mind ticking. As for the question of the day, I believe man's tendency is greed, but I hope the higher power will prevail in this world so that discoveries will be used for the benefit of civilization.
Cool post - thanks Mary & Stephen!
great article - I'm waiting for the next leap forward in political theory
My only answer is really a questions: When is it NOT about the money?
Madeleine, I hope that's the case. Star trek has been right on numerous occasions. Almost prophetic.
Pat, glad you liked the first book. You'll love the second!
Margo, the moon offers so many possibilities. I think we have to do it.
Nicki, I agree there is a higher power out there. That being said, mankind still operates under freedom of will and that's what's scary.
G, not with the current candidates hahaha.
Angela, its all about the money and I incorporated this theme in OPENING too.
Interesting post.
I think it depends on who makes the discoveries; some people would definitely keep it to an elite few, but not everyone in scientific fields is that way--at least, I don't think so.
I like to think of a positive future. Even if we screw up somehow with technology I think the human spirit will prevail.
I can't see any new discovery being free to the public, so whatever they invent or find will be sold to whatever group of people can pay the most.
I want to believe humans will become enlightened, but it'll come down to money.
Are we doomed anyways?
Great intro into Stephen's book!
I am so behind on my reading~
It sounds great!
I think like Arlee, both will happen.
Pocket padding and some rewards to mankind! One can hope~
Fascinating post!!!
I'm excited about the prospects of the future, but I'm not ingnorant. We don;t need man made disasters to ruin things for us. Diseases, pandemics, and plagues can wipe out large segments of the population over short or long periods of time. So that's another concern.
Since I dabble in sci-fi, I find this endlessly fascinating!
C. Lee, BSG does paint a rather bleak picture.
Looking forward to reading your new story, Karen.
I'd like to believe in a Roddenberry future, too, Madeleine
I hope to see many new and amazing things, too, Pat
I think we have to learn to leave the planet, too, Margo. The Moon would be an important 1st step.
Greed seems a predominant factor in our history. It will play a factor, Nicki.
I hope we have one soon, G, and one that doesn't go back to the Middle Ages
True, Angela. It's always about the money
I think you're right about that, Eagle. At least, I hope so, too
I like to think so, too, Lynda
It's hard to imagine otherwise, Belle. I agree
I want to believe that, too, Christine, but believe money will win out
Probably Rockinrule.
Hi Ella. It's easy to fall behind these days. Opening has been an easy and fun read so far.
It is a fascinating topic, Lydia
Unless the "mine" and "your" is truly replaced by "ours"...our world has not a trillion in one chance to dream an enlightened life cycle within Earth's landscapes, forget beyond...I foresee water and clean air wars, wars are already being fought over oil and other fossil fuels,taking a life has become pretty everyday activity like eating....maybe our violent nature will never let us achieve our true potential...but don't mind our penchant for pessimism and go on dreaming of a wonderful future.
Not sure, I hope it holds lots of great things, but looking at mankinds history, it prob won't come until lots of bad happens first.
I'm crossing my fingers that economics will win out in the end. I.E. that someone will see the benefit to selling the advances at a reasonable price that will benefit consumers.
Not likely, but I can live in hope. ;-)
I have a difficult time believing that we will ever allow our world to decay and disintegrate as badly as readers see in most dystopian novels. But it's interesting to see how writers twist simple everyday themes like corporate greed and bio-engineered food to serve their plots. Maybe this in itself will help us avoid a bleak future.
What about flying cars man?
Thanks Mary for hosting me! You have a great group of followers. And thanks for everyone for stopping by and commenting!
We need to start colonizing space as soon as we can. Earth is too populated. :(
Very interesting... I really like it... Thank you so much...
Hi Stephen .. we certainly live in exciting times - not sure about the future .. I'd like to be very optimistic that the will of the peaceful compassionate people will overcome all and bring forward a world worthy of what nature has created.
Cheers Hilary
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