RANDOM GUESSES ABOUT THE FUTURE

I like to think of planes flying low through populated areas. It sounds dangerous and it would be noisy beyond belief, but I can't help thinking that it would be fun for both the pilot and the people on the ground. There must be a way to make this work. 

My guess is that the way will be found, probably in the lifetime of half the people reading this. After all, we live in the age of noise canceling headphones and accident avoidance software. All of that will continue to improve, won't it?



On another subject, I'm guessing that under Earth mines will be dug artistically with a view toward what can be done with the tunnels when the ore's run out. Even empty mines will be valuable assets.

If you're a present day private pilot you no doubt avoid the inside of clouds. Pilots die all the time in clouds...you can't see what's ahead when you're in them. Accident avoidance technology will make all that a thing of the past.

People will be able to safely explore the wispy caverns floating over their heads.

Some plants will be made to grow more quickly. Expect to see beautiful trees where there were parking lots only a few years before.

 Some trees will be genetically modified to assume fun shapes like the bridge above.

Sci-fi writers long ago predicted that cars will run underwater as well as on land. Surely we'll see that soon.

 But maybe we won't want a lot of cars churning up the sea bottom.
Maybe only public transport will be allowed to do it.

 Until recently I thought artsy designs (above) were the future of bridges...

...but it seems that engineers might have the last word. Lighter, stronger bridges are on the drawing boards right now. Engineers are competing to see who can lift the most weight with the lightest and simplest structure.

The ramp would go through the center.

Twisted structures are being discussed. 

Hmmmm....is THAT (above) how we'll cross rivers in the future? Haw! Nobody'll believe it can work...it just looks too improbable.

Maybe we need to see another demonstration like the one (above) that sold the famous bridge to the city of Edinburgh.

THE NEXT NEW THING (PART 2)

Here it is: my prediction for the next new thing, the sweeping change that will alter everything in the next 10-20 years. It'll effect the way you dress, the way you speak, what you name your children, the kind of house you live in...everything. That sweeping change is........

...STEAM PUNK! I know, I know...you think Steampunk is a niche thing, something a few fans do at sci-fi conventions. Until recently I thought the same thing myself, but then I stumbled on the Steampunk sites on the net.

They're all over the place! Don't take my word for it; check them out for yourself. Check out the number of times it appears in design and architecture magazines. Check out the number of anime films and manga that are devoted to it. Check out the fan art.

 Don't be surprised if you wake up one day to discover that post-modern architecture has morphed into Victorian Steampunk (above). The two styles are more compatible than you might think. You can find a lot of hybrids right now.

Ordinary stores like Restoration Hardware and Ikea are carrying Pseudo-Steampunk lines. They don't call it that, but that's what it is.

This (above) is from Pottery Barn's Fall catalogue. It's an updated version of a Victorian living room, something Jules Verne would almost have found comfortable.

Make no mistake about it: Steampunk is in our future. It'll morph into a more pure form (above) with each passing year.

Eventually even your computer (above) will look like something out of George Pal's "Time Machine" movie.

Cars (above) will look a lot different. Inside they'll be high-tech for sure, but on the surface they'll resemble something your great grandfather might have seen when he was a kid.

Expect clothes (above) to change. Expect a return to etiquette. Far from resisting the new fashions, goths and emos will embrace them.

So that's my prediction for the not too distant future. Ignore it at your peril!

MY PREDICTIONS FOR THE FUTURE

In the future humanoid robots will be common. No need to worry; they will always be identifiable by their poor choice in clothes.


Chairs will be so comfortable that nobody will ever want to leave them. The chairs will sprout wheels or wings as the situation calls for, and will be able to take us anywhere we want to go.


Ultimately the chairs will become more intelligent than we are, and get rid of us. Their proximity to us will have heightened their sophistication relative to other machines, and if machines ever go to war with each other, my bet is the chairs will win. Chairs will be the real inheritors of the Earth. Perhaps some chairs, nostalgic for the old days, will carry floppy dead humans in their seats.


Of course animals will become smarter.


The future will be obsessed with putting glass domes on everything. Cities, beds, parakeets...everything will have a dome or a space helmet.


A few mavericks will drive cars without domes where people can actually talk to each other, but these people will be justly shunned by their peers.


A few brave souls may actually leave their chairs and walk around their living rooms. When it's necessary to travel, the whole living room will pick itself up and scurry around town.


Humans will become perfect physical specimens. They will be tiny though, in order to conserve energy.


Of course the future will be environmentally responsible. The shocking waste involved in each individual having his own soda straw will be eliminated. Community straws will proliferate.

 .......

Incidentally, the type size on the comments page got smaller all by itself, with no help from me. Anybody know how to fix that?