From now to 1,525 days from now

@withawhy,

What important events are happening right now that will most likely drastically change the future?

First and foremost, the LHC. In less than a years time we will discover particles and things we never knew existed.
Nano technology is coming to fruition. This will drastically upgrade on all levels this stuff we call technology.
On a global level, a financial disaster like we've never seen or historically had. And by that I mean the worlds money is so interwoven that it acts like ,never before in history (largely because of the net & credit cards), a single economy.

What other world changing events do you guys know that are happening?

@withawhy,

^^^ Are you referring to the 'end of the world in 2012' nonsense?

@nameless,

First, it would be difficult to know which events (if not all) are important in determining the future. Second, our knowledge of cause and effect is essentially linear and singular: we know that X causes Y and that Y causes Z as long as there are no other interferences or "outside" causes that also effect Z. In a larger context, to accurately predict how hundreds of events or trends interact with one another to produce change seems impossible.
For example, it might have been possible to predict that the steam engine would have "caused" railroads when applied to locomotives, but could that series predict the invention of railroad time/schedule tables, pneumatic couplers, and cabooses?

@withawhy,

I'm not necessarily talking about things that will happen that we dont know about.

I'm just talking about things we do know about and how they might interact. Any outside force we dont know about, I would imagine, would only expedite things (unless that thing is a natural disaster or terrorist attack, and these types of things dont necessarily carry on into the future, just delay things).

@withawhy,

If I could guess, I'd say very shortly our mind and the computer will come together.

That will change everything.

@withawhy,

Would there be any point in predicting future events? Eternity is in the here an now and the future events are only based on the here an now. Thus, making an predictions about it is not only nonsensical but a waste of energy as well.

I'd like to note that the only thing we truly can predict is where the Sun will rise in the skies and where the stars will be in the night and we couldn't do this without the perfection, love and balance of creation.

Personally, I don't listen to any predictions. Don't see any point in worrying myself into any level of fear about any future event. It is what it is.

@Justin,

Justin wrote:

Would there be any point in predicting future events? Eternity is in the here an now and the future events are only based on the here an now. Thus, making an predictions about it is not only nonsensical but a waste of energy as well.

Shallow statement for a topic in the deep end. The future matters for determining the now as it should be, this "oneness" doesn't concede that. The minds of people are causally determined by an inertial force, so society chooses not to change when unaware of the now and the potential martyr qualities and frailties.

Justin wrote:

It is what it is.

If we are all truly one, then so are our children before they come to be, and that is what is to be inevitably, and what is to come dawns upon me as important to the fact that the now is what it is. The now is me, my reality, and everyone else belongs to it, and I belong to all of them; but my reason, my being here, is not the same as what it is to be me, it is what imprint I leave on this consciousness (if you want to look at it that way) that I feel is important and will make it better. Future generations are here, and I am the now, and are connected by reason.

It is what it is, is not enough to be.

@Justin,

Justin wrote:

Would there be any point in predicting future events? Eternity is in the here an now and the future events are only based on the here an now. Thus, making an predictions about it is not only nonsensical but a waste of energy as well.

I'd like to note that the only thing we truly can predict is where the Sun will rise in the skies and where the stars will be in the night and we couldn't do this without the perfection, love and balance of creation.

Personally, I don't listen to any predictions. Don't see any point in worrying myself into any level of fear about any future event. It is what it is.

Thats true, there isnt really much point in sitting around thinking about the future. Often however, a lot of philosophical talk deals with death & existence. We are capable of predicting the future in that we are going to one day die.

In that sense its pretty interesting and often worthwhile to contemplate what that future is going to be like after this event happens. I would say apart from being a good person in this life, its the 2nd most important thing to think about. And if the 2nd thing influences positively on the 1st thing, well thats even better.

I suppose the souls future post death and your own future in 4, 8 years, are completely separate circumstances, but for some reason it is still interesting, exciting and in some way important to me. Smile

I'm also in the internet/technology business, so predicting the future of technology in ones life is a little different in that sense

@withawhy,

Holiday20310401 wrote:

Shallow statement for a topic in the deep end.

Is it? This shallow statement could be much deeper than you realize.

Holiday20310401 wrote:

If we are all truly one, then so are our children before they come to be, and that is what is to be inevitably, and what is to come dawns upon me as important to the fact that the now is what it is. The now is me, my reality, and everyone else belongs to it, and I belong to all of them; but my reason, my being here, is not the same as what it is to be me, it is what imprint I leave on this consciousness (if you want to look at it that way) that I feel is important and will make it better. Future generations are here, and I am the now, and are connected by reason.

OK, I see where you're going with this. However, one thing we mustn't forget is that we will make of the future what we make of it. If it means children and a family or a life filled with depression and anger, the future is here an now. Eternity is here an now.

Holiday20310401 wrote:

It is what it is, is not enough to be.

It's more than enough to be because it is.

withawhy wrote:

Thats true, there isnt really much point in sitting around thinking about the future. Often however, a lot of philosophical talk deals with death & existence. We are capable of predicting the future in that we are going to one day die.

We know that one day our body will refold into the Universe just as every thing expressed in the physical existence will. Nature expresses itself the same way. The million dollar question exists, are we the physical matter that actually dies...

Expressed in all creation is that everything has a lifespan and in death of the old or the refolding of the physical there's an equal regrowth and birth. In death there is life as expressed in everything we see in existence. There must be physical death in order for there to be life. Again, are we the physical matter or are we more than that?

withawhy wrote:

In that sense its pretty interesting and often worthwhile to contemplate what that future is going to be like after this event happens. I would say apart from being a good person in this life, its the 2nd most important thing to think about. And if the 2nd thing influences positively on the 1st thing, well thats even better.

This creates a delusion of fear. Being good because we fear that when we die we will go to a place that people have feared and talked about for ages. The predication of the future invites fear which causes both action and reaction... eventually creating the things we fear.

If we just bobble head dolls and our future was predetermined by some monstrous and all powerful being, then guessing the future would be important to our very survival. However, we are the ones actually creating the future by our very thoughts and actions in the here and now. We're not controlled like puppets, we're creators.

withawhy wrote:

I suppose the souls future post death and your own future in 4, 8 years, are completely separate circumstances, but for some reason it is still interesting and exciting to me.

I'm also in the internet/technology business, so predicting the future of technology in ones life is a little different in that sense

Not necessarily. I'm in the same business and I have no interest in worrying about the future. If somethings comes up that threatens it, there will always be an equal and opposite balance. In everything that happens for the bad, there is also an equal or greater good in the same balanced equation. It all depends on how we look at it.

@Justin,

Justin wrote:

Is it? This shallow statement could be much deeper than you realize.

Really?:rolleyes:! how:popcorn:

Justin wrote:

OK, I see where you're going with this. However, one thing we mustn't forget is that we will make of the future what we make of it. If it means children and a family or a life filled with depression and anger, the future is here an now. Eternity is here an now.

No, the future is not now! It is here, but it is not now. You cannot deny reason as it connects the two, so there has to be more than just a humoured "it is what it is and thats all" reality to which I cannot comply with. We act for the future, because we belong to a reality in which this monistic sense of "oneness", this consciousness, .. is just a transition, as right now it has no potential on our being except intrinsically. Actions convey thoughts, and actions are causality and causality is binary and binary is not monistic and binary is to reality as monism is to actuality.

Therefore I get what you are saying in that this consciousness thing, this idea that we are all part of one divine consciousness signalling that we are all the same... is only so in terms of actuality, which is what actuality is in the first place. It is the most causal implication on the infinite potential realities, linking them all together. And if this is by consciousness then I will accept that, it still complies to my atheistic values.

Justin wrote:

It's more than enough to be because it is.

Elaborate plz.

Justin wrote:

We know that one day our body will refold into the Universe just as every thing expressed in the physical existence will. Nature expresses itself the same way. The million dollar question exists, are we the physical matter that actually dies...

Yes we are physical matter that dies. All matter is the same, its bound energy. And so it dies if it was alive on its own in the first place. The immaterial is through the course of meaningless transcendence to me. It doesn't matter to the reality we perceive as the whole point of reality is to make use of immaterial physically so as to give actuality (made of pure immaterial, or nothing perhaps) potential.

Justin wrote:

Expressed in all creation is that everything has a lifespan and in death of the old or the refolding of the physical there's an equal regrowth and birth. In death there is life as expressed in everything we see in existence. There must be physical death in order for there to be life. Again, are we the physical matter or are we more than that?

Physical matter acts in cycles the way I see it. It supplies its own continuance and change. So life and death occur within the bounds of one another.

The immaterial if it exists, as the one consciousness I suppose, is not cyclic, or at least, it is not a circle. Maybe it gradients away from a circle, not really expanding, but not a circle. (Can't really describe here what I'm trying to get at) Surprised

And so, the immaterial acts in progression, allowing for its transition and not to mention, its transcendental abilities to the mind, which is fixed to the limits of reality. Kinda like the consciousness is a linearity(it is not so but...) compared to material anyways.

Justin wrote:

If we just bobble head dolls and our future was predetermined by some monstrous and all powerful being, then guessing the future would be important to our very survival. However, we are the ones actually creating the future by our very thoughts and actions in the here and now. We're not controlled like puppets, we're creators.

Exactly!

@Justin,

I've often believed that it could be possible to predict what's gonna happen with X. Unfortunately, the number of calculations on every possible effect and influence would be SO immense, SO enormous as to make it virtually impossible.

A lot of people believe that there are portents that foretell what's coming. I've seen a decent amount of material on this and I find no basis for buying-in. I get a kick of of them sometimes, but that's about it.

And sure, all things are possible!

@Justin,

YO!

Eternity is the eternal field upon which the players play, upon which temporality plays, when the game is played out, the players leave the field, but the field, remains, eternal. " Time has nothing to do with eternity, the tick of time, shuts out eternity." Upanishads "There has never been a man who lived in the past, nor will there ever be a man who will live in the future." Schopenhauer The present is the eternal moment, future is but anticipation, expectations in temporality. In considering the attempt to predict the future one must take into account, the chaos principle, the butterfly that creates a hurricane, the future is a cognitive cloud of becoming which is never to be.

@withawhy,

In ordinary life, we do attempt to predict the future, or else we could not make either simple or complex plans, or begin projects; however, as these plans become more complex and we know there are more and more dependencies with each step in the process, don't we also allow for these contingencies, even to the point of making provision by having at hand alternates?

The simpler and more immediate the plan, or prediction, the more sure we are of the results. But when thinking about the future in general, don't we understand at the same time we ARE generalising (we use words like "trends")?

The other side of the coin shows itself in our understanding of history. It is easier to give an account, for example, of Brutus's assassination of Caesar than the transition from Roman Republic to Empire. As historians are careful when they use "cause" in their accounts of past events, so should we not be as careful when we attempt to predict the future?

@jgweed,

Psychohistory - combines history, sociology, and mathematical statistics to make (nearly) exact predictions of the collective actions of very large groups of people.

Too bad it's all fiction Smile

Psychohistory depends on the idea that, while one cannot foresee the actions of a particular individual, the laws of statistics as applied to large groups of people could predict the general flow of future events. Asimov used the analogy of a gas: an observer has great difficulty in predicting the motion of a single molecule in a gas, but can predict the mass action of the gas to a high level of accuracy. Physicists know this as the Kinetic theory.

Could it be possible something like this exists outside fiction literature ? One of its axioms is "that the population should remain in ignorance of the results of the application of psychohistorical analyses." :perplexed: Psychohistory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

@jgweed,

Jgweed,

It is true that as temporal manifestatons we do experience successions in the present, but is not what we call future simply the successions within our own temporality. In the eternal field upon which temporality is played out, our histories desolves into it, time is a local, and is simply the affect of matter, the physical world and the cosmos defining temporality. Somehow any sense of future depends upon our sense of our own temporality, no temporality, no future, yet it is all in the context of eternity, time is temporality/matter in movement, stillness is eternity. Yes trying to predict the future, what temporality will do upon that field of eternity is just to complex, kept to the most simple expectations, somewhat short in speculative duration, we have some little success.

@withawhy,

Precise calculation henceforth would predict those things.I speculate that it might work.Bible prophecy pertains,that is.

@Ennui phil,

Ennuni,

Are you saying that bible prophecy might fortell the future, did your astrologer tell you that, pray tell what soothsayer have you been listening to?

@Holiday20310401,

Please help me understand:

Holiday20310401;28306 wrote:

1. ... the whole point of reality is to make use of immaterial physically so as to give actuality (made of pure immaterial, or nothing perhaps) potential.

2. ... the immaterial acts in progression, allowing for its transition ... its transcendental abilities to the mind, which is fixed to the limits of reality. Kinda like the consciousness is a linearity(it is not so but...) compared to material anyways.

Just checking to see if I follow your acrobatics:
1. If 'Actuality' is the physical reality resulting from the potential of the immaterial? I can agree.

2. Consciousness exhibits a linear progression relative to material reality? Yes, possibly; but how do you justify the immaterial acting in progression according to the fixed limits of reality? Can pure potential be said to progress as we become conscious of our reality? Maybe?
And sorry for the slight detour, but: Outside of theory, I find no demonstrable examples of a linear progression to prove to me that such a thing actually exists ... as a result I think of lines only as abstract points of reference, they have no real expression, they are illusionary and evasive mental creations.

ON SEEING THE FUTURE:
Recent studies demonstrate that we have evolved to compensate for the delay (one tenth of a second, unless my memory fails) between light striking an object, that same light being reflected onto our retinas and the mental process involved in perceiving the object. This new understanding of the function of vision suggests that we are never really witnessing events as they occur, but rather we constantly project our perceptions forward for events that have already happened! In brief there is no 'real time' vision, we are always looking at the past, and projecting our perceptions forward. Here again we have no absolute and are left with an illusionary mental creation.

So back to the thread... is the subject the future of current technology, which is already a thing of the past? The potential exploitations of current technology, which will be determined by the usefulness of such technology against future conditions whose potential we can estimate? or, is it speculating about technology that will exist in the future?

"Our state of being, is always one of becoming..."
-

@Doorsopen,

Doorsopen wrote:

Just checking to see if I follow your acrobatics:
1. If 'Actuality' is the physical reality resulting from the potential of the immaterial? I can agree.

Well then we don't agree. I have no clue what all you people mean by actuality. The way you define it seems the slight most redundant to reality so I can't absorb the term. Oh well. Actuality is not the physical result, that's what I call reality. Actuality is the causal implication that causes the result of reality when potentiality comes into effect. (roughly speaking). I have gotten into detail with what I thought actuality and reality to be off and on in the metaphysics threads, but its all sp****d out. It's easy to find. But you're definition is probably right.(norm)

Doorsopen wrote:

Consciousness exhibits a linear progression relative to material reality?

Consciousness doesn't have its tangents you see, in a fixed reality. But material does. That's great support for Einstein's relativity stuff. (time is different for everybody)

Doorsopen wrote:

Yes, possibly; but how do you justify the immaterial acting in progression according to the fixed limits of reality? Can pure potential be said to progress as we become conscious of our reality? Maybe?

Ah.. and this is where I get stumped. Consciousness cannot be purely bound to reality if this is true. And likewise, why this whole oneness theory of consciousness might be right. (correlation between monistic consciousness and actuality[of couse, that's an opinion inside an opinion, oops])

Doorsopen wrote:

And sorry for the slight detour, but: Outside of theory, I find no demonstrable examples of a linear progression to prove to me that such a thing actually exists ... as a result I think of lines only as abstract points of reference, they have no real expression, they are illusionary and evasive mental creations.

Yeah this has become a rather 'meta' conversation, eh. Facts are hard to come by. You don't have to believe one bit or take any of it in if you don't want to.

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