The reality is this. If you told somebody in the 1980s that within 20 years everybody would be carrying around small computers in their pockets, you would have been laughed at.

I don't want people to have flying cars - I see how most of those idiots drive and I don't want them in my airspace!

Spoken as a pilot. I had to go through a lot of training to get certificated and want it to stay that way. In the air, I'm in the company of (mostly) professionals or those who take it seriously. On the ground I'm in the company of idiots with no skills whatsoever who don't take it seriously at all!

We may see a new world order by then. I don't expect the US to be the dominant economic power by then. We may not even be the dominant military power. Our leaders are too focused on themselves and seem unwilling to address the real economic and social problems we have. It is possible there is a parallel between the US and Rome (arrogant leaders who were too focused on themselves to manage the empire) and also the European monarchies of 12-18th centuries (again, arrogant leaders who were too focused on themselves to manage their kingdoms). Our populace is more focused on entertainment than attainment and if that doesn't change we will be overrun, either by eastern economic powers or mid-eastern religious zealots. I don't think our current course will keep us strong enough to resist them for 100 years.

Read "Physics of the Future" by Michio Kaku. Advancements we've seen in the last 100 years are nothing compared to those already in development for the next 100.

He walks you through in 20 year increments based on projects already being explored/developed. Amazing stuff and a great read.

As long as we don't anhialate ourselves first, she's in for a great ride. And living well beyond 100 will be commonplace.

Science, technology and medicine - amazing.

World/political affairs - in the toilet.

We need these guys to stop by:http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1422632594.jpg

Back to the future predicted hoverboards in 2015...

WHERE IS MY FRIGGIN HOVERBOARD!?!

Right here:

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HSheVhmcYLA?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Unfortunately, this may be a fairly likely scenario. I can also visualize a population more easily manipulated thanks to the overwhelming influence of social media and nearly universal addiction to devices like the smart phone. We already have cases of people calling 911 when Facebook goes down momentarily! In the future, people's virtual lives will become more important than their real lives. The only reason that they'll actually go out into the world to do something is so they can post photos and brag about it to their ten thousand virtual 'friends'. If the powers-that-be can ever figure out how to exert influence over social media, it'll be a dark time for future generations. Overall control or dominance of social media isn't even necessary...just a subtle spin in one direction or another would be enough to change the way people think about certain things. Just imagine thousands, or even millions, of automated virtual 'bloggers' all pumping out the same subtle point of view cleverly disguised as 'entertainment' or 'news'. This influence will be poured directly into the minds of billions of people in real time thanks to their need to constantly access the virtual world. Eighty years ago, the Nazis were able to brainwash nearly an entire country's population by, among other things, manipulating the media. Just think of how much more widespread their influence would've been if they'd had social media to use as a propaganda tool.

The world of '1984' is fast approaching...only it's about forty years later than predicted.

^^ This

Look how much reach and influence ISIL has had thanks to social media.

Jules Verne is about the only person that came close to predicting the future (at least technologically speaking). I wonder about that for my kids, but the combo of religious fundamentalism, tribal or ethnic civil warfare around the globe, environmental issues, overpopulation and ingenious new kinds of bird flu dispersing via air travel, big corporations becoming quasi governments.... dunno that we'll keep on making progress like we have the last few centuries... There's just so many of us, too...

I can remember as a boy, sitting around the kitchen table eating cereal and reading comic books when I realized..... "I'm gonna be alive in the year 2000!!!!" This just sounded so crazy to me at the time!!!!My comic books promised flying cars and moon cities!!!! My mothers response sometimes haunts me as she said something like..."Well jeepers Mike I sure as heck hope I am as well!!!"....She made it to 1996....Dam cancer.
But yes...I as well would like to think the world of the future will be a kinder more gentle place to live than what we have right now. And congratulations on the next exciting chapter of your families life!!!!

Sub'd-
Curious if this thread will be zapped or preserved by 2100.