What will the Future bring? Fears, Hopes and Trends.

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
I thought I would make this thread for all who have ideas about the Future and how it might take shape. For many, the future is already decided by the Bible (also the Torah) and by the Quran. For the purposes of this thread, religious notions of the future should be left out of the discussion since they are speculations based on scriptures and not empirical data.

The Futures we did not get:

future.jpg


2b9590a8783fb7fde2dff895de1be5b4_L.jpg


2001-space-station.jpg


The Future we will never get (1984 was 30 years ago :)):

1984.jpg


And Doomsday stood us up:

images (2).jpg


What sort of visions do you have for the future? What do you base it on? I will weigh in after somebody posts here. Just wanted to get the thread started! :)
 

OMNI

My avatar speaks for itself.
I thought I would make this thread for all who have ideas about the Future and how it might take shape. For many, the future is already decided by the Bible (also the Torah) and by the Quran. For the purposes of this thread, religious notions of the future should be left out of the discussion since they are speculations based on scriptures and not empirical data.

The Futures we did not get:

View attachment 29265

View attachment 29266

View attachment 29267

The Future we will never get (1984 was 30 years ago :)):

View attachment 29268

And Doomsday stood us up:

View attachment 29269

What sort of visions do you have for the future? What do you base it on? I will weigh in after somebody posts here. Just wanted to get the thread started! :)
are you blind to what is happeneing cross the World today? 1984 is coming for f'cking sure
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
are you blind to what is happeneing cross the World today? 1984 is coming for f'cking sure

:) I thought it came and went about 30 years ago? I was taking that vision literally. George Orwell thought we would have this totalitarian world by 1984, like Kubrick envisioned a futuristic 2001. So, I take it you believe in a totalitarian future like the one in 1984 is going to happen? If so, why? I tend to think that such a society can never come to pass because those who would implement it no longer have the power to do so.
 

shavedape

Well Known GateFan
In the 20th Century the fear was that Marxist collectivism would take over the world. In the 21st Century the fear I have is that corporate oligarchies will rule our lives (much of which they already do).
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
In the 20th Century the fear was that Marxist collectivism would take over the world. In the 21st Century the fear I have is that corporate oligarchies will rule our lives (much of which they already do).

I see something like that too. But ultimately these oligarchies are made possible by the use of fiat money and currency. The idea of individual ownership of land and natural resources is unsustainable and contrary to nature. Historically, it is also contrary to human behavior and primate hierarchy. When nations fought over resources, it was one people competing with another people, FOR other people. Starting with the creation of fiat money in the 11th century in China, it allows for wealth to be based on nothing real but an agreement (at its most basic level).


Ownership of land is only made possible by the existence of a nation and also the existence of a government within that nation that can act as a broker (backed by military force). All lands in the United States belonged to the natives who lived here. At what point did it become "owned" by the United States? It was when the United States became a nation and declared it's ownership, backed by military force.

Having said that, the corporate oligarchy cannot exist without fiat money, without a nation, and without military force backing it up. I just dont see corporations ever being able to cross the line into government as a corporation. But it could happen...what if the Constitution was interpreted in such a way to allow a corporation to run for President? Interesting, eh? Corporations have rights as individual entities. Essentially we are already doing that. We elect a President, his Cabinet, his wife and children and even his pet. His "logo" flies at the White House for an administrative cycle, and we elect another one.

Still, I am not seeing something resulting in totalitarianism. The internet has destroyed the ability to use propaganda the way it was used before. But who knows?
 

shavedape

Well Known GateFan
I guess what I'm saying is that I see corporations gaining more and more sway with government. They are hand in hand already in many areas. Look at what happened with the Wall Street meltdown and attending depression -- not a single CEO was sent to prison when it is obvious that billions have been scammed and stolen and wasted via fiscal malfeasance. The justice department should have been handing out indictments like Halloween candy. And the reason they didn't is? That's right, government is in bed with corporations.

Same with the health care fiasco we are enduring right now. Government could easily have expanded the medicaid system to include more people but instead our officials "allowed" corporations to write the health care bill so it would benefit them. The poor sucker needing medical care was the least of their concerns. Hell, just look at the ridiculous premiums and extremely high deductibles that these new health care plans demand. It's all a scam made possible by the phony, crony capitalism (read: fascism) that is woven into our government now.

And don't get me going about the military/industrial complex, oy! We all know what a scam that is; made possible by corporate oligarchies.
 

mzzz

Well Known GateFan
:) I thought it came and went about 30 years ago? I was taking that vision literally. George Orwell thought we would have this totalitarian world by 1984, like Kubrick envisioned a futuristic 2001. So, I take it you believe in a totalitarian future like the one in 1984 is going to happen? If so, why? I tend to think that such a society can never come to pass because those who would implement it no longer have the power to do so.
In the 20th Century the fear was that Marxist collectivism would take over the world. In the 21st Century the fear I have is that corporate oligarchies will rule our lives (much of which they already do).
Agree with that, I think we do live in a corporate oligarchy but the kicker is that through a combination of the two, they've managed to convince everyone that we don't. There's just enough freedom to give the illusion that we have true freedom and aren't just indoctrinated, industrial products of the corporate machine that continue to carry out the functional aspects to perpetuate this system.

As for what the future will bring, increasingly depraved porn.

Something bit more serious: I've noticed people increasingly care more and more about themselves and how things benefit them. And society is sorta being structured because of that, that mindset is permeating into other aspects. For example, there are fewer and fewer people in theoretical based sciences and the more hard sciences. Instead, people are going into the applied fields because it's easier to make money in those fields. There are some serious geniuses in hedge fund companies and the like, but their talents and smarts are being utilized for something truly meaningless. Ph.D.'s in such companies usually know fairly advanced nonlinear pde stuff. That stuff is also used in the sciences and especially physics. But their genius in such fields are being wasted on such pointless ventures. I hate that. And I find that it's kind of widespread. More people are going into engineering and less into the harder sciences.

Another thing is something you might consider sexist, but hear me out. To me, women are more sociable than men in almost all aspects. If you disagree, that's fine cause I have nothing really to back up that claim. This one you sorta can't though. There are increasingly more women in college. So much so that I think that women are starting to outnumber male enrollment. I forget where I read this. So you have more women in college and because they're more sociable, they tend to gear towards careers and degrees that more geared toward social aspects. I mean, I'm sure you've noticed the female to male ratio goes vastly down when you look at liberal arts degrees as opposed to STEM. Even when you look at within science, the harder sciences such as physics, chem have less female than the softer sciences bio, environmental, etc.

So with that, I think that in the future, more people will shift towards the softer sciences and applied stuff like engineering, technology based degrees, etc. and more towards liberal arts/humanities/non-STEM. There will be more pseudo-sciences as well. Industries and corporate entities are obviously encouraging this. More people will shift towards those light sciences due to ambitions of material wealth and general narcissistic tendencies.

You can already see the effects of that sorta nowdays. I think there are more fantasy/supernatural shows now than sci-fi shows. People believe that they know science because they have access to wikipedia and google. This is especially evident in sci-fi tv. And the sci-fi shows are light science because the people behind them have that kind of mentality. They don't even care about the science aspects. In the past and past sci-fi tv shows, there was a sort of reverence and respect for the sciences. There were even inspirational in many ways, encouraging people into the sciences and even inspiring technology/ideas. But nowdays, the science is shafted to the background in favour of narcissistic melodramas. You have these half-assed shows. Think we'll have more pseudo-sci-fi shows in the future, if any. And the science will just serve as window dressing. It'll just be a platform for stupid melodramas. They'll continue to depict scientists as emo, narcissistic, incompetant, hipster-y, melodramatic messes, etc. Most scientists and math people I know aren't like that; in fact they're really laid back and cool and passionate about science and math. But instead, through these depictions, people will think that they're not. And this pisses me off. Pisses me off oh so much.
 

Bluce Ree

Tech Admin / Council Member
:) I thought it came and went about 30 years ago? I was taking that vision literally. George Orwell thought we would have this totalitarian world by 1984, ...

Let's see:

- engaging in wars under false pretense, lies and manufactured evidence by the government and nobody is held accountable
- The Patriot Act
- PRISM
- citizens' movements are constantly being watched
- cameras everywhere
- the deputizing of the RIAA/MPAA
- the continued effort to deputize the software industry through bills like SOPA
- pointing to your neighbor and yelling "terrorist" then watching them get carted away
- having your body x-rayed just to get on a plane
- states are systematically dismantling the education system by dumbing it down
- the tax system increasingly favors those with means and power
- permissive laws that allow the mainstream media to lie to viewers, including news outlets

... tired of typing this list out.

Looks like totalitarian is well on its way here in the good ol' US of A.
 

shavedape

Well Known GateFan
Mzzz's rant on scifi vs. fantasy/supernatural type shows instantly reminded me of the promos I've seen for a new CW show called Star Crossed. Here's the shows description straight from the source:

http://www.cwtv.com/shows/star-crossed/about

When Emery was 6 years old, an alien spacecraft crash-landed in her small town. Whether they came in peace or with more sinister intentions didn’t matter: a fierce battle erupted as humans fought for control over their new rivals, an alien species called the Atrians. In the midst of the conflict, Roman, a 6-year-old Atrian boy, found his way to a shed behind Emery’s house, where she protected him from harm, bringing him food, comfort – and friendship. In their brief time together, Emery and Roman forged a deep bond, but the authorities wasted no time tracking Roman down and capturing him in a violent confrontation. Emery has grown up believing that Roman was killed that day. Ten years later, the Atrians have been acclimated to life on Earth, but they are interned in a heavily-guarded camp known as the Sector to keep them separate from humans. Now, for the first time, a group of Atrian teens will enroll in a suburban human high school, with the goal of testing the feasibility of human/alien integration. The eyes of the nation and the whole world are fixed on this historical social experiment, an endeavor fraught with suspicion and fear. In the mayhem of the first day, Emery is amazed to learn that Roman was not killed by the authorities and is, in fact, one of the Atrian students. Their childhood bond is quickly rekindled – in a school and a society that distrusts everything about the Atrians, Emery and Roman have found each other again. However, their relationship is threatened by the small-mindedness of their respective communities and the political agendas of people in power. While the world around them rages with anger and prejudice, their bond becomes increasingly strong and increasingly dangerous. As an epic Romeo and Juliet romance unfolds, a violent encounter between Roman’s father and Emery’s father occurs in the Sector. Can Roman and Emery’s love – and peace between the species – survive?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#1. The giant chunk of text is exactly how they had it written on the CW site. :nono:

#2. They're using a scifi premise as window dressing for a lame teen romance, are they not?

#3. In the Atrian language, what is the word for "turd"? :daniel_new004:
 
B

Backstep

Guest
Mzzz's rant on scifi vs. fantasy/supernatural type shows instantly reminded me of the promos I've seen for a new CW show called Star Crossed. Here's the shows description straight from the source:

http://www.cwtv.com/shows/star-crossed/about

When Emery was 6 years old, an alien spacecraft crash-landed in her small town. Whether they came in peace or with more sinister intentions didn’t matter: a fierce battle erupted as humans fought for control over their new rivals, an alien species called the Atrians. In the midst of the conflict, Roman, a 6-year-old Atrian boy, found his way to a shed behind Emery’s house, where she protected him from harm, bringing him food, comfort – and friendship. In their brief time together, Emery and Roman forged a deep bond, but the authorities wasted no time tracking Roman down and capturing him in a violent confrontation. Emery has grown up believing that Roman was killed that day. Ten years later, the Atrians have been acclimated to life on Earth, but they are interned in a heavily-guarded camp known as the Sector to keep them separate from humans. Now, for the first time, a group of Atrian teens will enroll in a suburban human high school, with the goal of testing the feasibility of human/alien integration. The eyes of the nation and the whole world are fixed on this historical social experiment, an endeavor fraught with suspicion and fear. In the mayhem of the first day, Emery is amazed to learn that Roman was not killed by the authorities and is, in fact, one of the Atrian students. Their childhood bond is quickly rekindled – in a school and a society that distrusts everything about the Atrians, Emery and Roman have found each other again. However, their relationship is threatened by the small-mindedness of their respective communities and the political agendas of people in power. While the world around them rages with anger and prejudice, their bond becomes increasingly strong and increasingly dangerous. As an epic Romeo and Juliet romance unfolds, a violent encounter between Roman’s father and Emery’s father occurs in the Sector. Can Roman and Emery’s love – and peace between the species – survive?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#1. The giant chunk of text is exactly how they had it written on the CW site. :nono:

#2. They're using a scifi premise as window dressing for a lame teen romance, are they not?

#3. In the Atrian language, what is the word for "turd"? :daniel_new004:

To answer number 3, "Chit" is the proper term and spelling if i remember from my Atrian language class.
 
B

Backstep

Guest
Let's see:

- engaging in wars under false pretense, lies and manufactured evidence by the government and nobody is held accountable
- The Patriot Act
- PRISM
- citizens' movements are constantly being watched
- cameras everywhere
- the deputizing of the RIAA/MPAA
- the continued effort to deputize the software industry through bills like SOPA
- pointing to your neighbor and yelling "terrorist" then watching them get carted away
- having your body x-rayed just to get on a plane
- states are systematically dismantling the education system by dumbing it down
- the tax system increasingly favors those with means and power
- permissive laws that allow the mainstream media to lie to viewers, including news outlets

... tired of typing this list out.

Looks like totalitarian is well on its way here in the good ol' US of A.

Drones buzzing around like hornets.
 

OMNI

My avatar speaks for itself.
Let's see:

- engaging in wars under false pretense, lies and manufactured evidence by the government and nobody is held accountable
- The Patriot Act
- PRISM
- citizens' movements are constantly being watched
- cameras everywhere
- the deputizing of the RIAA/MPAA
- the continued effort to deputize the software industry through bills like SOPA
- pointing to your neighbor and yelling "terrorist" then watching them get carted away
- having your body x-rayed just to get on a plane
- states are systematically dismantling the education system by dumbing it down
- the tax system increasingly favors those with means and power
- permissive laws that allow the mainstream media to lie to viewers, including news outlets

... tired of typing this list out.

Looks like totalitarian is well on its way here in the good ol' US of A.

same in the rest of the World but yeah somepeople prefer to live in lala land and pretend or ignore this as the OP does.
 

shavedape

Well Known GateFan
same in the rest of the World but yeah somepeople prefer to live in lala land and pretend or ignore this as the OP does.

You hail from a country that considers this to be "fine cuisine". Howz about you fix this atrocity before throwing stones at us folks living in "lala land", m'kay. :P

picked%20herring.jpg
 

OMNI

My avatar speaks for itself.
You hail from a country that considers this to be "fine cuisine". Howz about you fix this atrocity before throwing stones at us folks living in "lala land", m'kay. :P

picked%20herring.jpg
your attempts to gauge a reaction from me by insulting my country is futile because i have no pride for this country or the majority of its retarded PC fuckwad population!
 

shavedape

Well Known GateFan
your attempts to gauge a reaction from me by insulting my country is futile because i have no pride for this country or the majority of its retarded PC fuckwad population!

Are you trying to seduce me sir? Cuz lemme tell ya, it's working!

cos-girl-at-bar-martini-mdn-225x300.jpg
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
same in the rest of the World but yeah somepeople prefer to live in lala land and pretend or ignore this as the OP does.

WHA? The opening post is objective and does not contain any of the vision of the future like the rest of the comments do. That was intentional. :) When I wrote that the 1984 scenario did not happen in 1984, I was stating the facts. I was trying to illustrate that the vision of the future formed decades (or centuries) ago did not turn out the way they were envisioned. Today, that is best summed up by the oft used term "Where is my flying car?".
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
You hail from a country that considers this to be "fine cuisine". Howz about you fix this atrocity before throwing stones at us folks living in "lala land", m'kay. :P

picked%20herring.jpg

O jeez...tell me please....what kind of fish is that, and is it cooked? It looks awful. :(
 
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