What's Next For Us

Humans are forward looking. Sometimes it's good and other times it's bad. Often times it's a great quality we possess. We write exhilarating and thought provoking science fiction. Our imaginations are wild. Our ideas are bold. We take action to achieve fantastic feats. And our vision for the future can be extraordinary.  But many times, our forward looking nature can make us short sighted. We forget history. Even our own history. We think the grass is always greener somewhere else, when in reality we just need to take a second to stop and water our own grass. Sometimes we forget to live in the present because of how much we're looking toward the future. And sometimes we forget how far we've come. 

I recently came across a video on what we've achieved in the last 45 or so years of human history. I found this refreshing because we often get caught up in the negativity that exists today, but the truth is, we've accomplished so, so much. So let's spread the positivity. 

1. There were more books published in the last year, than there were in our entire human history 

2. 9 out of 10 inhabitants in the poorest countries have cell phones - a device that performs 

instructions 120 million times faster than the supercomputers that sent Apollo to the moon 

3. The Global Extreme Poverty rate has been reduced by 75% in the last 25 years

4. The number of people living in extreme poverty in the world is now under 10%

5. Only 2% of Americans are considered poor by global standards 

6. In 1972 the average life expectancy was 71, now it is 79. Almost a decade increase in 45 years 

7. Infant mortality in the early 70's was about 2%, now it's .6%, a 67% reduction in 45 years

8. Since 1970, burglaries, robberies, and homicides have plummeted by 80%  

9. From 1990 to 2009, pollution has dropped by 36% 

10. Since 1970 world literacy has increased 30% and now over 85% of the world is literate

So what's next for us? What will be the next achievements of humanity? Instead of wasting brain power contemplating the ways in which humanity could commit new acts of evil, how individuals can do new wrong, or how we could frankly mess up our blessed existences, let's collectively continue to look toward the future with a lens of positivity and wonder what we can achieve next. Here's a few of my thoughts. 

1. We will create implantable technology capable of diagnosing slight to major abnormalities in bodily function, including growing tumor cells, neurotransmitter imbalance, and bacterial infections

2. We will eliminate pollution as fossil fuels run out and we will begin to heal our ozone's, our ecosystems, and restore balance to the environment

3. We will raise the human life span to around 100 as we continue to understand cellular aging, and pinpoint the correct diet and nutrition as well as improve preventative healthcare

4. We will eliminate extreme poverty as we continue to incorporate free economies, spread education, and allow globalization to raise the standard of living for hundreds of millions

5. We will travel to and inhabit our moon, Mars, and the moons of Saturn and Jupiter, becoming an interplanetary species 

6. We will create integrated virtual realities allowing humans to personally create and live out their wildest imaginations

7. We will discover cures for all major genetic diseases as genetic therapy and modification becomes cheaper, understood, and widely accessible

8. We will discover how to access more of our brain's functioning ability and capacity, allowing humanity to exponentially progress and understand the nature of the Universe and our reality

9. We will converge on a common race as globalization and human migration mix the gene pool, ultimately eliminating discrimination based on race

10. We will eventually walk hand-in-hand into extinction as a single race of humans, as the Y Chromosome disintegrates and males disappear 

And that is what's next for us.