2025 : Scenarios of US and Global Society Reshaped by Science and Technology

by John B. Mahaffie, Joseph F. Coates, Andy Hines, et al.

Written in the form of a history book, 2025 is an engaging retrospective of the years 1990-2025. Examining trends in medicine, housing, food service, economics, entertainment, industry, education, and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1886939098
• Release Date: September 1996
• Publisher: Oakhill Pr
• Length: 508 Pages
• Weight: 1.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.5" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Conservative predictions for an un-conservative century

The prediction of future events or trends has always been of interest, not only from a popular point of view but also from a business/financial one. If one can obtain a fairly clear assessment or forecast of future developments, one can leverage against or for those developments. The authors of this book want to give the reader an overview of what the world will be like in the year 2025, which is now only two decades away. Two decades may seem like a somewhat short period of time, if judged purely by the ticking of clocks or wristwatches. If however one views it from the standpoint of the ticks of the clock of the dynamical system of scientific and technological change, it is a very long period of time. If one views the last century in blocks of twenty years, one will find that an incredible amount of scientific and technological has occurred between one block and the next. Even more importantly, many of these developments were unanticipated, in spite of concentrated efforts to predict them. This is not to say that efforts to predict or at least understand future developments are unimportant or misguided. The anticipation, if not prediction, of future developments is important in that what is predicted can actually have an affect on a what actually happens in the time frame at issue. Indeed, the branch of learning theory called `anticipatory systems' is concerned with the extent to which the results of modeling or predictions can influence the time evolution of a particular system. The results in this theory have had only limited influence on forecasting in the popular or semi-popular literature, as this book is clearly an example of. The predictions or forecasts in this book however may motivate some to actually bring them about, or even to attempt to correct the course of events if certain predictions do not reach fruition. This is particularly true, and of major importance to financial institutions. It is of less importance to scientific researchers, who are quite myopic or even completely disinterested in future developments. Sitting in between these two extremes is the curious person or the polymath, who both enjoy speculating on the future. Making an objective assessment of the content of this book will entail that the reader have a strong background in many different fields, even though the authors have attempted to make the book accessible to a general audience. One could perhaps read the book passively, i.e. without really attempting to assess whether the predictions are plausible or violate established scientific principles, but this would probably result in extreme boredom on the part of the reader. The authors point to developments in information, materials, and energy technology, and in genetic engineering, all of these fields quite extensive in themselves. In addition to these developments, the authors believe that environmentalism will stimulate some of the developments in these fields. Given the current political configuratio

2025--a masterful scenario

"The future is now present," claims Bill Clinton. We need to "honor the past" and "imagine the future." Here is a book that helps millennial planners do the later part well. Coates is a regular feature at World Future Society conferences. Last year I heard him give an 8-part lecture series last year on scenarios of life and business in 2025, and later bought the cassette series.Now he and his colleagues have brought out the book on the subject. It taps the worlds of science, technology, and engineering to look at the thirty year period of 1995 to 2025. Written in the form of a history book in 2025, Coates gives fifteen scenarios which reflect what life will be like in the United States as well as other societies (both affluent and less prosperous). * Smart Living / house and home of the future * Information: The Global Commodity / integration of telecommunications * Harvesting the Fruit of Genetics / biotechnology * Powering Three Worlds /energy technology and efficiency * The World of Things/ materials technology * Working Toward a Sustainable World /environmental strategies and tools * Managing the Planet/ macroengineering the environment * Putting Space to Work /cooperation and commercialization of space * Our Built World/ infrastructure and construction * People and Things on the Move / transportation * The World of Production / custom manufacturing * A Quest for Variety and Sufficiency / food and agriculture * Striving for Good Health / disease prevention and life enhancement * Our Days and Our Lives / quality of life movement * Balancing Work and Leisure / lifestyle and entertainmentOne added feature to *2025* is that at the end of each chapter, Coates lists the "Critical Developments, 1990-2025," plus the "Unrealized Hopes and Fears" of each field he covers. *2025* is the best information rich and researched mid-range scenario for the future I have read. It also is enjoyable reading. I have sharing bits and pieces with my son ! and daughter who will be 41 and 39 in the year 2025. They get a kick out of hearing about computer "knowbots," toys made with "smart materials," or machine "language coaches." But *2025* is far deeper than just a preview of future gadgets.This book could be a veritable field guide to your next 30 years, especially if you are in business, an entrepreneur, a person responsible for planning, or engaged in scientific and technical issues.I am using it right now as a help in writing radio commercials which illustrate futures thinking for upcoming millennial celebrations.