I enjoy reading about predictions.

The most common one I pay attention to is the weather. I, too frequently, get a laugh with a report of ‘currently raining’ as I look out my window to see nothing but bright sunshine. And not even a prediction.

Of course, the farther out the prediction, the greater the likelihood of being wrong. I remember in my younger years that we would all be moving around in flying cars by now. 

One pattern I noticed is that folks make predictions in an area they are interested in or have a vested interest in its future. Transportation folks foresee unbelievable speeds. Energy folks think about energy sources yet to be discovered. Language Specialists tell us that a universal language called Esperanto will be spread worldwide. We are not quite there yet. Be curious and Google it.

The critical factor that predictors seem to ignore is human nature. Electric cars are a good idea; if we were now inventing cars, they’d all be electric. But we have invested billions of dollars in infrastructure to support fossil fuel vehicles. There are still billions of dollars worth of oil in the ground that has the potential to support families for many years. This huge ship needs to change course – not an easy task. 

I’m going to give it a try. I’m only going to go five years out to give myself a fighting chance. And I’m going eclectic – just because that’s more fun.

Here goes.

Health:
There will be a significant increase in targeted health care at the DNA level. This could mean altering DNA through such things as gene splicing. And it could mean specific medications that are formulated for your particular DNA.

Climate:
As the weather disasters become ever more predictable, with the once-in-a-hundred-year event becoming a once-in-five-year event, voters will be more willing to have a lower standard of living to pay for the changes we’ll need to make. We’ll still try to have our cake and eat it too – expenses for change should be paid by the other guy with all sorts of rationales to support the distribution of costs.

Education:
There will be less unified teaching in a jurisdiction as new perspectives of history are given a voice. We won’t have enough time to give airtime to all these voices. Based on the ability to pay, groups will break out of the ‘general’ education to give voice to their priorities. This is already happening in Alberta, and I expect that in 5 years, there will be a noticeable increase in these charter schools.

Water:
This will be the resource that brings humanity together in a collective effort of solutions or war. Probably both. Just a tiny prediction for the western world – flush toilets will start disappearing from newly built homes. I’m not sure what that will look or smell like. Western ‘human nature’ hates any reference to bodily fluids and their associated yuk factor. On second thought, five years is way too fast for this one.

Please give this a bit of a think. Take a few moments to reflect on what parts of your world might look like. What are the obstacles to reaching your prediction? Please share your predictions.

And remember, this Blog is for entertainment purposes only!

My thanks to St. Albert Seniors Association: 780-459-0433 for making this Blog possible.

Photo by Wyron A on Unsplash

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