The year, 1840, or the year, 2180?

[pointrider]

Hey, Mike, I'm with you. I did pretty good in the 1950's and the 1960's as a young cowboy among other things, but I don't believe I am tough enough to have survived the mid and late 1800's - just bein' honest about it.

I decided to start a new thread so we could do a poll on which year folks would choose. We should get more participation that way. In case you don't know, the years 1840 and 2180 are from my last post (before Mike) in the thread, "Sell your ranches while you can!" You'll have to go there to read the question to participate in the poll.

There are a few other little situations I could have added to the 1840 list such as the boom towns and gold rush camps as a result of the California gold rush and the opening of the mines in Nevada and elsewhere, a little matter called the American Civil War and (for all us Texans in the bunch) the carpetbagger takeover of the Texas government after that war that caused the Texas Rangers to go underground to be able to help ranchers and other settlers fight off the raiding Comanches.

No doubt there will be more Columbia-type disasters as we try to go farther and farther into the universe in the year 2200 and hostile environments that will have to be tamed. But, hey, that is the choice in this little exercise. The year, 1840, or the year, 2180? Let's have some fun with this as we learn more about what is being predicted for the future.

I set the poll to run for 30 days.

 

[pointrider]

Tue, August 24, 2010 Elul 14, 5770

Singular sensations
In an exclusive program in Silicon Valley, Israeli scientists are being exposed to cutting-edge technologies that will enable them to develop ways to help humanity meet its toughest future challenges

By Guy Grimland

At NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California, 80 scientists are coming up with inventions that will change the world. The scientists include geneticists, nanotechnology engineers, artificial intelligence experts, entrepreneurs, social activists and businesspeople - all of them carefully chosen from among 1,600 candidates from around the world.

Three are from Israel: Erez Livneh is working on an unusual sort of treatment for AIDS -----------They and 77 other lucky people from around the world are participating in this year's summer graduate program, lasting about two and a half months, under the auspices of what is called Singularity University - an interdisciplinary institution located in Sunnyvale, California. The program is funded by NASA, Google and other sources. The aim of the university, which is in fact not a conventional degree-granting university at all, is to expose program participants to the most advanced technologies and up-to-date research in a variety of disciplines, and to help them carry out projects aimed at meeting the greatest challenges in the realms of water resources, food, energy and space.

------------- The selection process Livneh underwent once he decided to apply was torturous. "I went through three stages, with many questions and inquiries. The selection is strict. The admission rate is lower than at Harvard Business School. I wrote an essay about what I believe to be the greatest challenges facing humanity, and explained how I can lead change in the country I live in."

After his acceptance, Livneh received partial financial assistance from the Ilan Ramon Scholarship Project (which supports "future Israeli space leaders" ) and from a foundation belonging to Singularity. He paid the rest - tens of thousands of shekels - out of his pocket: "This is a substantial expense, but I wasn't willing to pass up such an opportunity. I put my life on hold. I wouldn't say that I'm sacrificing anything by being here, because this is a wonderful opportunity and an enriching experience. Whoever gets here stops his life and enters a totally different world."

------------- "The current treatment of viruses is based on vaccination, but there is no vaccine for AIDS," he explains. "That is why several anti-viral medications are combined in a cocktail. The problem is that the viruses develop tolerance to medications, the medications are expensive and not everyone has access to them, and the treatment is tough and unpleasant.

"I propose a totally different strategy: I won't disrupt the virus. On the contrary: I give it exactly what it wants. I create a strategy of deception and build virus 'traps.' Microscopic bodies posing as cells will present everything the virus needs. The virus will mistake them for real cells, become trapped and then be destroyed. The virus can inject its genetic load into the cell only once, and it will attach itself to the wrong cell and thus self-destruct. This is a breakthrough technology that can save millions. I don't know of a similar clinical approach in current scientific research around the world."

Adds Livneh: "I want to promote this clinical approach socially and not commercially, to help as many people as possible. Not that I won't patent it, but I want to use my knowledge to heal people. I'm not against people getting rich through science, but there are developments that must reach as many people as possible - and this is one of them."

-------------- Who are you studying with?

"People from all over the world: Ethiopia, Denmark, Canada, the United States, Italy, Hong Kong, Jordan, New Zealand and Australia. Everyone has at least two or three skills. There are entrepreneurs here, engineers and all kinds of scientists, but also businesspeople who embarked on their first enterprise at age 15. There are entrepreneurs here who established 10 to 20 companies, some of which make millions. There are social activists in various spheres, such as one from Nigeria whose life's work is to promote the status of women and education. There's an activist from Brazil who started an educational project that has affected 80 million people."

Isn't it daunting to think that you're expected to develop an invention that will change humanity?

"There certainly are expectations. There's a network of experts and financial resources. We're put in touch with almost every person we want to meet. The expectations are as high as the investment in us. We're expected to do great things. The dynamics that have developed here even in one week are amazing."

 

[pointrider]

Howdy!

I decided to move the part of the post over from the other thread that has to do with this poll. Maybe we can get a few more votes before the time runs out. So, here it is, and then after "the question," be sure and take a look at the rest of this post before you vote. Sounds pretty exciting.

"the question"

Okay, here is the question and the two choices for your answer.

What year would you prefer to be born (in the U.S. or Canada)? 1840 or 2180? You can only choose one of those 2 options. The year, 1840 (170 years ago), was chosen first, and there were specific reasons for deciding on that year for the first choice. The second choice was calculated by adding 170 to our current year, 2010. If you were born in 1840 and survived early childhood and the other typical challenges of that period, you probably would have lived until the year, 1900 - about 60 years. If you are born in 2180 you could probably live at least 2-300 years if not longer according to predictions. And imagine where we will be in terms of going out into the universe by the year 2300 or 2400.

If you were born in 1840 in the U.S. and survived early childhood (most likely traveling west on a wagon train through hostile Indian country), you would live in the period of open range, rustlers, range wars, trail drives to Kansas and points beyond, Indian wars (primarily the 1860's) and the wild, wild west of the 1880's.

If you were born in 2180, you will be 100+ years beyond the Singularity as predicted by Ray Kurzweil, and you most likely will be able to travel to the far reaches of the universe if you choose to do so. You will most likely be a combination of human and machine, and life will not be anything like we know it today. Your 300 year lifespan will most likely be a matter of choice. In other words, just depends on how long you want to live.

So, if you had to choose one or the other, which would you choose?

"the latest news on space travel"

Space tourism: Get ready for a trip to the high frontier
Published: Saturday, September 11, 2010
By Dick Pelletier, Futuretalk
Ever since humanity first gazed at the stars, humans have dreamed of traveling in space, but progress to realize this dream has been excruciatingly slow.
The world became excited in 1969 when Neil Armstrong made that "first giant step for mankind." However, since then we've produced only 41 years of boring earth orbits and a few unmanned flights.
Now, all this is about to change, as a fleet of private spacecraft will soon be flooding the skies. Reports from companies attending the recent California Space 2010 Conference reveal impressive plans for jump-starting the space tourism industry.
Today, more than 40 companies are involved in design or manufacture of crew and cargo vehicles, and at least three firms are creating space habitats.
Entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Robert Bigelow, Elon Musk and others see a future with thousands of people roaming the high frontier. Some will find jobs in space, others will go just for fun, and a few bold pioneers will one day call the high frontier their home.
By 2030, experts predict 5-million passengers-per-year will be traveling to space hotels, recreation centers, industrial complexes, or to moon vacation trips. Permanent space population is expected to reach 70,000 during this timeframe. The following companies represent a variety of unique approaches in developing the high frontier:
SpaceX leads the pack with their reusable spacecraft Dragon and launch vehicle Falcon 9. Led by Internet millionaire Elon Musk, SpaceX hopes to begin supplying the International Space Station by 2011.
Orbital Sciences, a leading developer and maker of smaller, more affordable space and launch systems with focus on expendable cargo-only vehicles, have become a prime NASA contractor; and will begin hauling payloads to the ISS by 2012.
Sierra-Nevada Corp developed the Dream Chaser spacecraft that could be running productive space errands by 2014.
Bigelow Aerospace with two industrial space habitats already launched, is aggressively recruiting corporate customers to occupy their units by 2014. CEO Robert Bigelow believes tenants can get to and from his properties via future 'taxi' services provided by SpaceX, Boeing, Virgin Galactic, and others.
Boeing is building the CST-100 space capsule designed to fly on a Falcon 9, Atlas V, or Delta IV rocket. Test flights will begin in 2013 and could be operational by 2015. Boeing also displayed a space station made of inflatable Bigelow Aerospace modules to be serviced by the CST-100.
Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson created SpaceShipTwo that can carry two pilots and six customers on a 3.5-hour flight 62 miles above Earth where passengers will float around the cabin in zero-gravity. To re-enter the atmosphere, SpaceShipTwo's wings fold up, then unfold back to their original position for an unpowered descent to the runway. Flights could begin by 2015 or before.
Throughout history, great nations have commanded the frontiers of their time. Britain became dominant in the 17th century through its exploration and mastery of the seas. America's leadership in the 20th century stemmed from its supremacy of the air.
For future generations, the frontier will be space; settled, not by a single nation state, but as many space proponents believe, by a collaborating global village.

 

[Whitewing]

I'm probably a contrarian and therefore in the minority here as it relates to how one views the future of mankind. While I agree that there will likely be significant advances in medicine, computer technology and numerous other areas, I don't have such a favorable view of how future governments and populations will compete for the earth's ever-depleting natural resources, and in particular, fossil fuels.

For that reason, I suspect that the year 2180 will not be so rosy for those born during that period.

Most of us here were born during a period of rapid human population expansion accompanied by significant technological advances and powered by relatively cheap energy supplies. I personally believe those days (cheap energy supplies) are soon to end and when they do end, the upheavals could be staggering in their scope and ferocity.

For those interested, I've linked a website below that discusses the natural lifespan of the earth's oil supply. It's a long and sometimes tedious read, but definitely worth the effort in my humble opinion. The main body of the website discusses how the world's economies as we know them today have been built on the back of cheap oil and how those economies are likely to be effected when oil is no longer cheap.

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/

 

[burnt]

It seems that every age has its own Tower of Babel.

 

[Silver]

I'd run with 1840, less paperwork.