By Sandra Olmsted

The Roaring 2020s?

Even if there are fewer printed books in the upcoming decade, stories will be everywhere on our devices, and shades of Harry Potter’s newspapers, cheap printed electronics mean newspapers resurge as video players! And what about wireless electricity? Sounds great until paying for upgrades.

While medicine will help us live longer lives, will healthcare costs, as predicted, increase? What’s next: AIDS vaccine, stem cell treatment for congestive heart failure, artificial kidneys, male birth control pills, brain implants to restore memories, and 3D-printed human organs? Apparently!

Will 20% of new buildings, 90% of restaurant food, and most clothing be 3D printed? Or will we wear tiny drone-like swarm-bots, risking embarrassing wardrobe glitches?

Will extinct species resurrection through cloning, selective breeding, and genetic engineering continue? Will scientists create cross-species communication systems, so we can talk to animals?

The Boring 2020s?

Will spreading the Olympics over locations, dates, and city budgets revitalize interest?

Will entertainment decrease when the NBA shortens the regular season’s 82-game schedule and, maybe, the NHL follows suit?

Will robots calling the balls and strikes take the fun out of baseball?

The Soaring 2020s?

With more countries launching rockets, will the space race return? Will Mars be colonized? Will high-speed rail networks, tube transportation, and “beaming up” people increase travel? Some think so.

Will we have self-driving cars, flying cars, or even self-driving flying cars? If we can’t drive “inside the lines” on roads, how will everyone “driving” flying cars and dodging drones work?
Imagine letting teenagers use the family flying car . . . . Now, that’s scary!

The Warring 2020s?

Was it hard to predict that the economy fluctuates between booms and busts?

Will Artificial Intelligence and automation take away jobs, or will Human Augmentation allow for jobs in new industries?

When 9 billion humans require double food production, will we eat plant-based foods or see an underclass subsisting on carbs and fats? What about access to freshwater and to fuels?

Will the US, as predicted, have more competition as a global power? Can we avoid wars over food, water, and energy?

Or The Worth Ignoring 2020s?

Will more than 10% of global transactions be made with cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin? Doubtful!

Will information be streamed directly into our brains, even though social media is already doing that?

As if it takes a crystal ball to predict Cable TV’s demise!

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