|
 A magazine of forecasts, trends, and ideas about the future May-June 2006 Vol. 40, No. 3 |
Executive
Summaries
May-June 2006 FUTURIST article summariesBy Eric G. Swedin SUMMARY: Advances in biotechnology will continue apace in places that are motivated to pursue them, and regulatory restrictions could keep the U.S. and other ethically cautious countries behind the curve, suggests a technology scholar. Like the nuclear arms race in the twentieth century, there may soon be a "eugenics race," as China promotes the development of technologies to assure the smartest and most-productive future workforce in the world. Unless other nations keep up, a "smart baby gap" may be in our future. Personal Futuring: A Step-by-Step Guide SUMMARY: Individuals can take advantage of the same futuring tools used by professionals--such as scenario planning, probability and impact analysis, and life-cycle mapping. A futurist consultant presents an easy-to-follow methodology for analyzing the areas of "foreknowns" and uncertainties in your current and future life stages. Sample charts illustrate how to summarize what is going on in important areas of your life--such as finances, housing, health, and activities (employment, hobbies, etc.)--and then assess the trends that may alter those areas in the next stage of your life. From this analysis, you can create scenarios of what may happen, as well as strategies for achieving your goals for the future. Personal Futuring in Action SUMMARY: A FUTURIST reader--a college student--was invited to apply author Verne Wheelwright's personal-futuring methodology to analyze her own life stage and future goals. She shares her experience and reflects on the realization that her choices and decisions in the short term have impacts on her ability to achieve long-term goals toward an "optimistic scenario." The World's Top Super Projects: The Best of the Big SUMMARY: A futurist consultancy specializing in the analysis of global megaprojects picks the most successful projects of the world in a wide variety of areas, including the top international airport (Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok), sports facility (Astrodome), communications project (the Internet), industrial plant facilities (Intel), space mission (Apollo 11 moon landing), and family entertainment (Disney theme parks). Building a More-Humane Economy SUMMARY: Thanks to the new information and communications technologies, more work can be done in less time by fewer people. If this productivity growth translates into more time for life, so much the better. So far, at least in the United States, a potential "leisure society" has not yet emerged, trumped instead by a growing "consumer society" that leaves many people less than satisfied. New policies are needed to help ensure that increased productivity generates not just economic growth, but also improved lives and more-satisfying workplaces. The Digital Health-Care Revolution: Empowering Health Consumers SUMMARY: The democratization of information via the Internet, Web, message boards, and the like is leading to the democratization of health care. Not only can patients learn more about their maladies and potential remedies, but they can also learn from other people's experiences and form empowered personal health networks. The health-care industry, including schools and hospitals, could nurture this trend, such as by turning their libraries into patient-education centers. The Mind-Programmable Era SUMMARY: Humans and machines are already well on the road to merging, as such devices as cochlear implants demonstrate. Science writer Michael Chorost, himself a beneficiary of this technology, describes how sensors and other feedback devices could one day operate two-way. For instance, the devices could intervene directly with people's brain functioning to enhance their mood, improve their cognition, or even manipulate their behavior. To order the print edition of the May-June
2006 issue of THE FUTURIST ($4.95 plus $3 postage and handling) or to become a member of the World
Future Society ($49 per year). |
|
