Futurists look beyond, and it's not mere sci-fi

Chicago Tribune ^ | Friday, July 29, 2005 | Russell Working

[Momaw Nadon]

Imagine a future in which terrorists seize an embassy and police can send in a remote-controlled insect outfitted with a microscopic video camera that reveals where the gunmen are hiding and what kind of weapons they hold.

Or a time when adventure travelers fly to the moon to spend a week at a space colony under the glittering lunar skies--in the way they now visit Antarctica or the North Slope of Alaska.

Or a U.S. constitutional convention where delegates draft a new governing document that allows the rest of the world a say in American decision-making.

Sound far-fetched? Over 1,000 futurists arriving in Chicago this week have been considering such scenarios and a host of other possibilities that some people might dismiss as wild dreams and unlikely schemes. The World Future Society--an organization of academics, consultants and planners--is gearing up for its annual conference Friday to Sunday, drawing forward thinkers from as far away as South Korea and Venezuela.

Mainstream futurists are not crystal ball gazers or mere science fiction aficionados (though a session is scheduled on "Science Fiction as the Mythology of the Future"). The future may seem unknowable to most mortals, but humans continually plan for what lies beyond the chronological horizon, futurists say. Everything from an environmental impact study to Pentagon war games are forms of future study.

Futurists tend to be consultants and academics who analyze data based on current trends, said Patrick Tucker, assistant editor of The Futurist magazine and a society spokesman. Many offer advice to and facilitate discussions within businesses seeking to anticipate events, rather than merely react to crises.

[Momaw Nadon]

FYI and discussion

[Maceman]

Or a U.S. constitutional convention where delegates draft a new governing document that allows the rest of the world a say in American decision-making.

NEVER!!!!

[thoughtomator]

Or a U.S. constitutional convention where delegates draft a new governing document that allows the rest of the world a say in American decision-making.

We have that already. It's called the Supreme Court.

[maestro]

.....meanwhile,....'back to earth',.....only 1% of the world's population cab AFFORD to own/drive cars......

/OFF gas prices,....back to camel/horse gases

/OFF?....200,000,000 horses attacking Israel-Iraq?

(Romans 10:17)

[brivette]

Amen

[Popman]

Or a U.S. constitutional convention where delegates draft a new governing document that allows the rest of the world a say in American decision-making.

Send in the robotic insects to take out the mooselimb terrorists and take your trip to the moon, but keep your hands off my U.S. Constitution.

[HereInTheHeartland]

"We have that already. It's called the Supreme Court."

Actually its called the Democrat party.

[TADSLOS]

Where's my flying car? They promised me a flying car.

[Cate]

My thought is- who cares what the rest of the world thinks in regards to the USA? Don't mess with the best system on the entire planet.
As for space colonies, I think its a great idea and there are lots of people looking for exciting adventures that would jump at the chance.

[Farmer Dean]

That would be the fast track to a second American civil war.

[bwteim]

Futurists can sometimes be like the stock broker who sells newsletters for a steep fee: he mails out two sets of teaser newsletters, one telling 50% to sell stock XYZ, one telling 50% to buy XYZ. Then, when XYZ tanks, he only contacts the first group and tells them how he looks like a genius.

Speaking of futurists and stocks. This is from Futurist Site in April 2004.
Below it is current snapshot of Apple stock for past two years.

Fresh Apple?
Commenting on a recent rise in Apple Computer Inc.'s stock shares, Paul Saffo of the Institute for the Future warned that the current fancy for some of Apple's products might be short-lived. "The iPod's really cool, but it's not a long term thing. Apple has to be asking itself what's next. What's the next equivalent of the iPod?" Quoted in "Apple Makes Noise" by Mike Musgrove, Washington Post, April 8, 2004.

[the invisib1e hand]

a brainstorming session for the Dark Side.

[papertyger]

Or a U.S. constitutional convention where delegates draft a new governing document that allows the rest of the world a say in American decision-making.

Or imagine a reading public that instantly reviews your writing online, and gets a say in whether you keep your job...

[musanon]

More from the treasonous article:

"--- Some futurists are willing to cast a critical gaze upon other people's sacred cows--or, in the case of futurist consultant Joseph F. Coates, upon the U.S. Constitution.

The 18th Century document is ill-suited to an age in which decisions made in the United States can reverberate around the planet, the Washington-based futurist says.
Furthermore, he considers a government of semiautonomous states outdated, and how often do 20th-Century Americans need to worry about issues such as boarding militia members?

Perhaps some may find it hard to imagine a domestic constituency for allowing Yemenis and North Koreans a say in American politics. But Coates says it is time to draft a Constitution for the 21st Century.
"The interests of other people are never fairly integrated into our political process," he said. "And hence we continue to get into trouble again and again." -----"


Indeed, we do keep getting in 'trouble', -- mainly because a good portion of our citizens do not understand the Constitution, -- or are [like Joseph F. Coates] out & out committing political treason against it, by urging that it be infringed.

[M Kehoe]

Or a U.S. constitutional convention where delegates draft a new governing document that allows the rest of the world a say in American decision-making.

Nope, not going to happen.

And if I'm wrong, all bets are off.

5.56mm

[eccentric]

Phooey! Don't believe anything! We were suppose to have flying cars by 2005! Where are they? soooo disappointed.

did anyone predict the internet before 1970?

[freedumb2003]

Or a U.S. constitutional convention where delegates draft a new governing document that allows the rest of the world a say in American decision-making.

NEVER!!!!

We already have that. It is called the Democratoc Party Congressmembers.

[SAJ]

If you're wrong, the right bet to make is ammunition.

Lots of it.

[ckilmer]

what I don't think is quite realized is that methodologies for hydrogen research are so good that GM now predicts that they can collapse the price of a fuel cell to 1/10 its current costs--in five years. this means that fuel cell cars will be cost competitive in five years.

the other thing that's not quite realized is that the methodologies for hydrogen research can be applied to water research. when water desalination is cut to `1/10 th its current costs then the elements will be in place to turn all the world's deserts green.

so the total picture of the 21st century for the whole world will include what the USA had in the 20th century: cheap water and cheap energy.

in short cars will run on water and the size of the habitable earth will be doubled.

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

Where's my flying car? They promised me a flying car.

Ahh, I just love posting this here wav file on these threads....