Future Topic

Use this thread to display futuristic videos, pictures and even articles. Feel free to discuss those as well. Anything that qualifies as some sort of innovative technology will very likely be suitable for this topic.

I shall start:



Have fun!

Cool video. Though they've shown stuff like that for years and yet I still have my boring normal curtains and my none digital tv wall.

That would be so awesome. But it would be insane trying to get used to all that stuff.

I think one of the main problems would be hooligans on the streets wrecking the public digital devices. :/

But it does look quite cool. ^^

... Yeah but thats when the futuristic flying robot comes down and aims a little laser at their heads and says, 'stop.'

I often wonder how much Tv/Movies has to account for in technological advances. Alot of the wacky ideas in them are what people aim for and I do wonder how much ambition we would have to make such things if it weren't for the free flying fantasy and sci-fi on the big screens.

A whole generation of fingerprint magnet technology. Get M-O asap!

Fun fact #34: Sliding doors and flip phones came about with Star Trek sci-fi technology.

LoD, if you post spam videos again, with no proper context whatsoever, you will be banned for a considerable period of time. Consider yourself warned.

Back on topic.

Arkanay wrote:LoD, if you post spam videos again, with no proper context whatsoever, you will be banned for a considerable period of time. Consider yourself warned.

Back on topic.

Sir, if you actually watched the video instead of being a sour puss you would've seen that it is quite relevent to the topic at hand. It shows how in the future, everything will be chrome colored.

Now, I'm sure our fellow forumers wish to discuss this concept of everything being chrome colored. Let them.

I suggest you don't go down that road, LoD. It will very likely not end up very nicely for you. You are welcome to stick around and contribute to the conversation, though. But if you're not, then don't bother posting, if it's just to trouble.

As I have said, keep on topic or there will be consequences.


---

Do you guys thing movies and games´typical future-space-atmosphere portrays mankind´s future correctly? As in, we will conquer the stars and establish a Space empire? I, for once, would like to believe that, but as I know people who think it's how things will develop, I also know some who defend it will not happen.

Perhaps we´ll bring the human race to an end before we´re able to advance to other planets and such? I believe that if we are able to create a space empire somehow, mankind will become immortal. Like, if we stay on Earth forever, at one point or another, something, most likely the Sun blowing up, will bring an end to us all, but if we manage to expand, there won´t be much to stop us.
Just some crazy speculation.

Feel free to share your thoughts on this.

I think it would be really cool if we could get to that stage. All we would really have to do is keep funding our space programs so they could keep experimenting and eventually they would create that technology.

I think we would only bring an end to the human race if an extremist terrorist group got their hands on nuclear weapons and were stupid enough to use them. I'm pretty sure that most of the world leaders are smart enough and wouldn't use nukes.

I kind of agree with you on mankind becoming immortal when we create a space empire. The only thing we would have to worry about is any other intelligent life in our galaxy, but I don't think that would be a problem. With the vastness of our galaxy our population would be able to increase by a lot. We might be able to emerge ourselves into the internet and live forever in a sort of virtual reality.

Hopefully what I all said makes sense!

Hmm, we've had a couple of space programs since the 1960s (US, Russian, etc.) and we're still driving cars on petrol... besides we've been to the moon only a couple of time since the moon landing and they're already talking about manned mars missions, yet we haven't gotten a [official] moon base.

I once saw a speculative film about how three astronauts were stuck on an orbital station - connected by a space elevator - while trying to figure out what world power to contact once they fond out how to effectively use solar energy.

We may be advancing in computer technology but we're far behind in regards of transportation and space-fare technology. Reason being that there's still a lot of money in oil. And a lot of greedy people.

As for space colonization. If we manage to built an energy efficient spaceship on low costs it will still take us several generations times over until we can actually colonize distant planets. And by then humankind will have changed so drastically, it may have evolved past the ability to live on an earth-like planet.

Although we have alot of advanced technology I dont think we are going to be a space empire any time soon. As cool as it would be I think technologies will be put to use here, even if its just to maintain the planet and the way we live now.

However, I did watch a program a while back where they were lokking at ion Engines and it did seem quite possible to reach Mars in the near future. They talked about scooping moon dust and extracting the oxygen from it to give the astornauts enough air on these little pods they would build on the surface. It also talked about the suits, which they have made and tested, that would allow people to withstand the change in pressure.

Pretty cool if you ask me.

There are a lot of programmes on the Discovery Channels about how Sci-Fi has changed our lives - I've only watched a few of them since I am not interested in the future in that way. However, I can only assume that so0me of the conclusions made in the plethora documentaries must include how some sci-fi tech as become reality. The only sci-fi techs I know is reality now is wi-fi, although I think Mobile Phones may be counted in this area.

On a sort of related note, there are some technologies and gadgets I would be happy if they could be uninvented - like Mobile Phones and Social Networking for instance.

Regarding the sci-fi and space empire stuff:

It's not impossible that we will travel to distant stars - on the contrary, it's very likely that we eventually will. Not the least because we all deep inside feel that it would be awesome and because it would be huge milestone for our civilization and species. But unless we find a way to communicate with means that are faster than light, a united space empire that stretch out in the galaxy sounds unlikely. Because if the star system with our colony is located 100 light years away, it would take 100 years to send them a message, an order or other instructions. And that is fairly close in this context. To me it seems impossible to plan not only how an entire planet is going to be governed, but 100 years in advance.

If we discover how to create stable wormholes on the other hand, or something similarly effective, then that's a whole other story. But right now, we don't know if it is practically possible to somehow get to one point from another faster than light. Wormholes are just a theory, I haven' heard that any have ever been observed.

While on this subject; it will be a very long time before any colony we have on a different planet will be more than a mining or research base. Terraforming Mars to be habitable would likely take a thousand years for example.

If anything I wrote is unclear or inconsistent, it's because I'm writing this in the middle of the night.

Vektrix wrote:On a sort of related note, there are some technologies and gadgets I would be happy if they could be uninvented - like Mobile Phones and Social Networking for instance.

Why do you happen to feel that way? I think mobile phones are quite handy. I can make calls and send messages easily, and having a notepad, a calculator, a unit converter and my whole music library with me at all times isn't so bad either.

Vektrix wrote:On a sort of related note, there are some technologies and gadgets I would be happy if they could be uninvented - like Mobile Phones and Social Networking for instance.

Why do you happen to feel that way? I think mobile phones are quite handy. I can make calls and send messages easily, and having a notepad, a calculator, a unit converter and my whole music library with me at all times isn't so bad either.[/quote]

It is mainly the human reaction to it that both annoys and disturbs me.

A mobile phone makes you contactable wherever you are, and far too many people INSIST on taking the call when they are with friends, family, colleagues or other people. Human interaction has become secondary to the vast majority of people. When my mobile goes off, I only take it if a) I am alone, or at least not busy interacting with someone else or b) If it is important (you can tell by looking at the number). People just answer it, regardless, without even saying "Excuse me a second" to anyone they are with.

Secondly, it has turned certain individuals into religious zealots or appalling bores. Some people insist on sharing their latest app - I DO NOT CARE. All I want from my phone is to be able to communicate when it is necessary through text or call. It is part of the reason why I hate Apple as a company. Have you seen footage of them opening a new store, it is like Steve Jobs is God and all the people there are religious nuts who must worship at his feet by being there when it opens. I am sick of people who say "You must get this" when it comes to tech in general, but Mobiles and Smartphones in particular. NO, I mustn't, my phone does exactly what I want it to do thanks.

The Mobile Phone has forgotten what it's primary function is, the only reason there is a camera in mine is because it is almost impossible to get phones that don't have them. Mine also has an Mp3 player and sound recorder too - but these were not features that I even wanted on it, let alone looked out for. I got my phone because it was cheap, not because it was good at doing stuff I don't care about.

Thirdly, your music argument is sound to a point. Sony invented the walkman in the early 80's, then the Discman in the late 80's early 90's. My point? The music wherever you are has been around since before Mobile Phones. And I don't know about you, but I prefer a dedicated MP3 Player to one that is tacked onto a phone. The sound quality is generally much greater and the song capacity is generally much greater. Incidentally, my MP3 player has a Calculator and Sudoku on it

I agree, the mobile phone has clearly messed up the rules regarding taking a phone call. In company I never pick up the phone unless it is important but then I still ask for permission if I may pick it up - something most people don't even bother doing.

Common courtesy is history.

I guess I haven't been in that sort of annoying situation that you describe, when the person you're talking to simply picks up his/her own phone and answer in the middle of a conversation. Not many times anyway. You make an interesting point, Vek!

Oh and one difference between having music with you in a mobile phone/mp3 player/ipod/whatever and in a walkman or discman is that you can have literally over 1000 songs with you, stored in a card small as your fingernail instead of having to carry around a bag filled with tapes or CD's if you want to be able to listen to that many songs anywhere you go.

There's those phones (in Japan) that are literally implanted into your hand. Try slamming that phone down without feeling it...

But, I agree with Vek. I don't have a 'social network' site. I find it much nicer to talk in person or to actually make time to see a friend rather than reading their status.

I also dislike all this gadgetry on phones. I just want my phone to take calls and allow me to text. That's all I need. I rarely use it for anything more than letting people know what's going on anyway.


I think all this technology that allows us to do stuff quicker is ultimatley bad. We are expected in life to do things faster and more things at the same time, because, Oooh clever technology allows us to. Simply put, this technology makes our lives busier and more stressful because it is now expected that you use it to do so. Its stressful.

Red-Indigo wrote:I think all this technology that allows us to do stuff quicker is ultimatley bad. We are expected in life to do things faster and more things at the same time, because, Oooh clever technology allows us to. Simply put, this technology makes our lives busier and more stressful because it is now expected that you use it to do so. Its stressful.

That reminds me of a subject that I've been thinking about a lot the last year - agriculture hasn't brought humanity anything but trouble. There were, for example, no wars before there was land to capture and stores to plunder. So if there was one invention I could have undone, it would be the first agriculture 10'000 years ago.

Well... it has its good points too. But I think its more the way we evolved along with it. The native Americans for example were among the first to have agriculture... they crossed seeds to wield bigger crops and so on but they let them grow as they would. They were alot more open to other people and how things went along naturally and I think that's the issue with technology now.

As it evolves we do, but not physically, we evolve in terms of technology. That in itself has lead us to be guarded and fairly cut off from each other, not to mention how things work in a natural environment.

I guess it all has good and bad points. I mean without agriculture there would be no medicine, the population would be substantially smaller and natural disasters would have a larger effect on us as a race, all because of a lack of food.

I just wish we could use all this 'advancement' to maintain and improve what we have rather than making non sustainable things to replace what we feel we are running out of.

@Damnagoras: Without agriculture humanity would've starved and we need livestock because without all hunted animals would've been extinct long ago. Also, you should be glad there were wars, though, or this planet would've been long overcrowded before we even entered the renaissance.

The development of agriculture actually helped humanity to develop as a whole. It helped to support larger groups of humans living together.

Hmmm.... Damnagoras, without Agriculture we would not have anything after it. Think of it like this. In China, they did not develop glass because they were content to drink Tea, however, in Europe, we developed Wine, which is a nice appealing colour, so we developed glass so that we can enjoy the visuals of the beverage.

However, because we developed glass, we also developed windows, Lenses, Microscopes, Telescopes and the like. Because we developed these things we could see the world in every smaller sizes and gain further understanding of the world. Up until the development of glass, the Chinese were the world leaders in inventing stuff.

Without Agriculture, we would therefore still be in the Stone or Bronze Age, Agriculture is what kick started the Iron Age. Iron is a much tougher metal than Copper or Bronze, yes, Bronze was use din the making of swords, tough enough you'd think, but there are whole hordes of Bronze Axes that have been found with no evidence of ever being used around the time of the development of Iron Casting.

So far no Bronze Agricultural tools (other than axes) have ever been found. However, the development of Iron tools changed that, there are loads of Iron tools - including Axes, Plough Bits and Sickles - that show evidence of use, because the Iron tools weren't weak, they improved efficiency. Requiring fewer people to farm the land means more people can then develop other things. The other things weren't necessarily weapons either, the earliest metalwork known in the UK was found near Stonehenge and was a Gold Ring.

Yes, it is unfortunate that Agriculture increased the value of land and you are right, the first battles were over fertile land. It is also true to say where there is good agriculture, great civilisations have have arisen (Egypt is a case in point). However, I would ascertain that the single most destructive force on this planet is Organised Religion, and not the development of Agriculture. I think you'll agree, it is much easier to fight over something tangible (such as fertile land) than it is to fight over something that is individual to each person.

Have a look at this:

http://www.suite101.com/content/sumer-the-birth-of-civilisation-a62732

Bear in mind that it was in Old Europe where things really took off (around 6000 BCE).