From: Brian D Williams (talon57@well.com)
Date: Wed Jun 23 1999 - 13:43:17 MDT
From: Alex Heard <aheard@wired.com>
>Greetings, Extropians, this is Alex Heard ... I'm an editor at
>Wired magazine. We're planning an issue on futurism for later this
>year. The basic idea is to look at various future-y things we all
>want but don't have yet -- life extension, citizens-in-space,
>better computers, personal flying machines, teleporting, head
>transplants* -- and unapologetically ask: Why don't we have them
>and when the heck are we getting them?
>We're trying to combine a sense of fun with serious reporting
>about these topics. If you have a chance, please email me here or
>at aheard@wired.com to discuss things you'd like to see in the
>issue, suggest ideas, sources, other people we should talk to,
>etc. Our hope is not to redo the same old ideas, but come up with
>things that will seem fresh and interesting to people like you,
>who think about these issues more intelligently than most people.
>I look forward to hearing from you ...
One thing you may wish to do is contact Max More about attending
EXTRO-4, that should give you plenty of material.
Life Extension: This will become a growing interest in the
population as more people it is not only possible to live to 100+
but live a high quality life beyond 100+. I believe the changes
will continue to be incremental till the sum of them is a highly
expanded lifetime. This incrementalism was portrayed in Linda
Nagata's (someone to talk to...) "Tech Heaven." As the realization
of longer life hit's home there will be an increase in the number
of people who sign up for cryonics. Technology will have increased
to the level that coin operated streetcorner MRI's will exist to
diagnose and possibly treat illness.
Citizens in space: The high cost of space flight will limit this to
the private citizen for awhile, but it is only a matter of time
till the first manned Mar's expedition (less than 20 years) and
unlike the moon mission it will be followed by terraforming. See
Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy.
Better computers: Happening every day, computers/networks will fill
everyday appliances, (ubiquitous computing, Xerox PARC) and such
things as handheld A.I.'s will exist. (William Gibson, "Mona Lisa
Overdrive).
Personnal Flying Machines: Moeller's still at it, but because of
energy requirements it will be a rich persons toy, little else.
Cars will evolve based on things like the Hypercar project going on
at Argonne National Labs, and the smart roadway projects, it will
be possible to go from point to point on autopilot.
Teleportation: long ways down the technology curve....
Head Transplants: Why bother, it will be possible to rebuild/repair
the human body before this.
I share the view that Nanotechnology is just around the corner, and
this will of course alter everything.
I think things will be very interesting economically as more of the
world's population climbs the economic curve. People are getting
more sophisticated economically. I'm still middle class as were my
parents, but I didn't have a portfolio till my 20's, my nieces and
nephews had them before they were 5.
I think there is a very interesting trend happening in agriculture.
At the same time Campbell's is spending millions on developing the
high-tech "flavor-savr' tomato, new seed companies have brought
back heirloom variety and created new ones. Farms that went under
growing monocultural products are being replanted as market gardens
supplying restaurants like Chez Pannesse and Charlie Trotters with
dozens of exotic vegetables. The word is biodiversity, see the book
"Seeds Of Change".
Just a couple of thoughts....
Brian
Member, Extropy Institute
www.extropy.org
Member, Life Extension Foundation
www.lef.org
Member, National Rifle Association
www.nra.org
1.800.672.3888
Ameritech Data Center
Member, Local 134 I.B.E.W
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