How would you showcase the future?

[LPChip]

Introduction
You can skip this introduction entirely. I'll be telling here what gave me the idea for this topic.

I'm a fan of startrek. I have seen The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise (latest) and recently I thought about checking out the first Startrek with Captain Kirk. Although graphically this series is crap, and the acting is outdated, its fun to watch this series. Watching this actually made me think. The technology they had back then was nothing compared to what we have now. This really shows in things like their communicator. When they want to make a call in that series, they grab a device out of their pockets to make the call. In the newer star trek series, they moved that to their com-badges.

The discussion
Lets say, you get the request to create a new sci-fi movie/series that takes place in the year 4000 (or later). Think of ways that we'd evolve both as a person and by technology and come up with items/behavor patterns that we'd do then. I like to discuss the options and see how everyone thinks about it. Feel free to give feedback on eachother's ideas and build on those ideas to create something even better. Do not limit yourself to todays science, but keep things practical.

I'm interesting in common aspects of life: Like; what do people do for a hobby, sports, work (if there still is any), how do they live, how do they transport, how has the world around them changed, etc...

I'm interesting in what you can come up with. Feel free to put up a question too.

In fact, let me start with one, to get the discussion going. More than one may reply to this question and share their point of view.


To start
So, we're in the year 4000. Do you think people will still work, and if so, in what context?

[Saga Musix]

Do you think people will still work, and if so, in what context?

No, they have all been extinguished by atomic waste because of some stupid people from the 20th century.

Also, if you look back just 1000 or 2000 years, you should see how little sense it makes to talk about 4000 years from now. 100 years would be something more realistic to talk about.

[LPChip]

Alright. Lets talk about 100 to 200 years from now, and lets work our way up.

[KrazyKatz]

Biology is the way of the future. Genetic enhancements, Cherry picking DNA.
For example communication instead of via devices and badges would be via thoughts. We would have developed a form of ESP when someone is contacting us on an ESP mental wavelength and could mentally accept or reject their call.

But I imagine that the future would be less about circuitry and more about biological advancements. Here are a few ideas:

Your body coding would be stored in a databank. If you got injured you would just step in a medical chamber that replaces the damaged cells. So walk in hurt, walk out new.

Weapons would not be aiming devices. You would have a device on you that is constantly scanning in a 360 degree area and if it picks up a different race, it could stun them through a genetic weakness. For example, us as humans rely on ear mechanisms for balance. If you were to set the device to stun humans, once a human came into the radius it could emit a sound that disrupts the eardrum forcing the human to lose balance and become ineffective.

Such a device might even be able to pick up hostile intentions. For example if you are hostile a certain area of your brain starts becoming more active. The device picks up this brain pattern and sends out a warning to the authorities, and if strong enough could activate the stun approach I mentioned.

Light would not be needed. Either the eye would be developed to "see" using heat vision. If not advanced enough, a device could be embedded to the eye that uses heat or sonar which is translated by the eye and sent to the brain.

One could alternatively bypass such sense biological mechanisms entirely. Star Trek already did this actually with Kody, and it's being tested today. A microphone type unit could be connected directly to the hearing part of the brain, bypassing the ear. Same for Site, smell, etc...

People would be designed to be much smaller. This is to save on resources. Smaller people means less room needed on the planet.

I'm quite sure a device would be invented that would keep humans from needing to sleep as much if needed. What could happen is certain unneeded parts of the body (or even brain) could be shut down while only the needed parts would be active. For example if you need to only write, your whole body could go to sleep with only your right hand active.

Of course there are problems with these theories, but solutions could be found for them.

Recommended reading for this: "Sphere" and "Next". Both by Michael Crichton.

[LPChip]

So basically, you think that we'd evolve in ways to protect ourselves and hurt others, instead of looking for ways to make life easier?

[KrazyKatz]

I was more so thinking in terms of a futuristic series that is realistic. But the answer to your question is both. Man kind has always furthered his military capability. That will never change. And obviously man always seeks to make his life more comfortable.