People in a space colony of the future (by Rick Guidice, 1977)
In 1977, the Herald-Starin Steubenville, OH, asked the local citizenry to share their predictions for the year 2000. Predictably, a lot of answers came in from the 10-12 year-old set, and their answers are surprisingly accurate... at least in some cases. Marty predicted the smartphone and online shopping:
In the year 2000, we will have all round buildings. We will have a robot teacher, a robot maid, and all workers will be robots, too. We will have a pocket computer that has everything you can name. We will even be able to push a button to get anything you want!
Marty Bohen, Age 10
Other students' expectations for the future were decidedly more personal; Monica just wanted to make sure she had her MRS. Her predictions for global peace were a little more ambitious:
In 2000 I will marry a doctor and maybe have kids. I would like my husband to be a doctor because he would be helping people and would still want to be close to my family. As for a job for me I would help the crippled boys and girls. I would still like to have my same friends. And the most important thing for there to be is no wars and killings. I hope they could find cures for every sickness. And everybody will care for each other.
Monica Katsaros, Age 10
Paleofuture has a whole collection of gems just like these, which make for a great read. Link
But it makes me wonder: What would you predict for our future? Tell us what you think 2050 will look like, and why.
And I'm wondering about the geopolitical landscape... and not going to venture a guess. But I think we will see more and more serious upheavals around the world and new world powers. Russia, for one, is a player to watch.