Human society is so focused on the present that clear thinking about the future can be difficult. It's often easier to simply write off the future
by believing in Armageddon ( if you're religious) or some catastrophe like global warming, errant nukes, or an uncharted asteroid ( if you're
not). Yet, there is every reason to think that radical change is only a few years away - and that religions and cultures may fade away as a
result. What things may happen?
Exposure of the existence of extraterrestrial life - whether microfossils from Mars or first contact on the White House lawn, the net
effect would be devastating to anyone who still thinks the earth is utterly unique in the universe. Our fantasy of a privileged position in the
cosmos would evaporate - and push people away from revealed religion. Radical, indeed. Simply consider how many people in power in the
US are personally involved in fundamentalist style religion and what the effects might be.
Exposure of a near human primate - if someone ever proves that Yetis or Bigfoot exists, it would end our sense of separation from
animal life in a way that books on evolution never could. Only the most crazed Creationists would remain. Emotional shock would hit
many people.
Development of effective artificial intelligence - does it have a soul? is it alive? what is consciousness? can we download ourselves?
can I have a relationship - with my computer? is it a person?
Ending the aging process - while this is unlikely to happen soon, that doesn't mean that human life and health might not be greatly
increased in the near future. It would have a radical effect of Social Security, the economy, religion , warfare and the whole social
structure of the world.
Development of a radical abundant energy source - not everyone who dreams about this is a crackpot. Even with what we know now,
it is possible to conceive of a future in which you don't have to depend on centralized sources of oil or electricity. In fact, if I was an oil
company executive, I'd be terrified. Even the Saudis know that $100 a barrel oil is a nightmare that will eventually make them irrelevant
as research is fostered by the price. This is why they have acted as swing producers to keep the price down for so long. If you install
solar panels, you don't rip them down just because crude drops in price. Gone will be gone.....
While many of us have fixed beliefs about Final Questions - such as God's existence, life after death and other matters, our world in
general still relies on fantasy and casual religious ideas. What would the world be like if all doubt was erased? If we finally knew
it all? I'm not sure that most folks could deal with it. You could see entire nations go mad - and that's why the infamous Brookings
report said as much to Congress about UFOs some years ago.
The future isn't Armageddon. But it will be scary and almost equally radical.
metatron