Timing The Future
Timing The Futuremoved from TimingHistory:
The pattern described in TimingHistory can be carried into the future assuming that historic ages continue to advance, whatever that means:
Started-Ended Age Name (from above) Age-Pattern Description ------------- ---------------------- ---------------------------------------- 8/2048-10/2048 distribution age of micro cybernetic development sequence 3/2048-8/2048 material age of micro cybernetic development sequence 4/2047-3/2048 organization age of micro cybernetic development sequence 7/2045-4/2047 beginning age of micro cybernetic development sequence 1/2042-7/2045 distribution age of macro cybernetic development sequence 2035-2042 material age of macro cybernetic development sequence 2021-2035 organization age of macro cybernetic development sequence 1993-2021 <unnamed> beginning age of macro cybernetic development sequence 1937-1993 computer age: distribution age of micro cultural development sequence 1825-1937 industry age: material age of micro cultural development sequence 1601-1825 political age: organization age of micro cultural development sequence 1152-1601 intellectual age: beginning age of micro cultural development sequence 255-1152CE measurement age: distribution age of macro cultural development sequence time period during which there are two advances followed by two declines 3559-1765BCE urban age: material age of macro cultural development sequence 7148-3559 agricultural age: organization age of macro cultural development sequence 14K-7148 extinction hunting age: beginning age of macro cultural development sequence 29K-14KBC <unnamed> distribution age of micro human species evolution sequence 57K-29K technology age: material age of micro human species evolution sequence 115K-57K tribal age: organization age of micro human species evolution sequence 230K-115K <unnamed> beginning age of micro human species evolution sequence 459K-230K language age: distribution age of macro human species evolution sequence 919K-459K old stone age: material age of macro human species evolution sequence 1.8M-919K family age: organization age of macro human species evolution sequence 3.7M-1.8MBC big brain age: beginning age of macro human species evolution sequence 7.3M-3.7M hominid age: distribution age of micro animal evolution sequence 15M-7.3M ape age: material age of micro animal evolution sequence etc.By macro, what is meant is that the gross features or existence of something is being developed, for example larger brains. By micro what is meant is that the subtle architecture of something is being developed for example how the brain is organized in a human alive today.
StarTrek is an alternate universe rather than a possible future of ours. The genetic wars of the 1990's clearly disrupt civilization so badly that we decline into another material age where fossil fuels are used up and Warp Drive is invented. Civilization then declines once again as interaction with other intelligent species is too much to handle for our political systems and we need to have another organizational age to rebuild our political structures. The first series takes place during this period. The next generation series takes place during the following advancement period. None of them experiences an age like we are going through now.
My extrapolation above assumes the essence of StarTrek, StarWars etc, not an exact duplication. Jules Verne imagined A Trip to the Moon - we went there, but not fired from a cannon. Circumnavigation of the globe was achieved by aircraft first, not balloons like Around the World in Eighty Days although Bertrand Piccard finally did it the Orbiter III in just 19 days. Someone said "ScienceFiction is the first draft of the future" we can imagine possible worlds long before we have the ability to participate in them. Obviously there were no genetic wars in the 90s so it won't happen exactly the same but it is likely if human civilization survives to expand beyond the solar system they will encounter LifeOnOtherPlanets, a quasi-federation will be formed if one does not exist out there like in StarTrek, and as more civilizations are encountered conflict, power struggles and their resolution will dominate as in StarWars not unlike WWI and II when technology allowed many nations to simultaneously move men and materials and communicate rapidly on a global basis. Other possible futures are: an asteroid takes us out or (god forbid) we take ourselves out by nuclear holocast; Also a OneWorldGovernment? (1984/BraveNewWorld) could emerge and stifle progress, or machines take over like in TheMatrix but being an optimist the projection above is hopefully a best case scenario. If such a thing as a GalacticWiki does evolve, that would be amazing for millions of civilizations to share and argue ideas in real 'time' (whatever that is since physicists say simultaneity does not exist), and discuss how this galaxy will reach out to Andromeda (which by the way will collide with us in a few billion years according to a display at the Haydn Planetarium), the Local Supercluster and the billions of galaxies beyond. For serious analysis of galactic colonization possibilities see "Interstellar Strategies for Interstellar Colonization" http://hanson.gmu.edu/filluniv.pdf and "The ETH and the likelihood of Interstellar Travel" http://www.nicap.dabsol.co.uk/eth.htm. By the way, happy 100th anniversary of the Wright's first flight (Dec 17, 2003)
Some (absurdly) think the Brazilian Santos-Dumont beat the Wrights to it in (see http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/12/10/brazil.santosdumont.reut/index.html) the late 1800s. "He would keep his dirigible tied to a gas lamp post in front of his Paris apartment at the Champs-Elysees and every night he would fly to Maxim's for dinner. During the day he'd fly to go shopping, he'd fly to visit friends."
See also HumanPopulationStabilizes, TimeTravel
It would be interesting to compare the number of Homo Sapiens that have ever lived with the number alive today 1B was reached only in 1800, in the 60s population was only 3B now it is over 6B projected to be 8B by 2025. Does that mean more significant historical events are happening now based on events/humans living? At what point did (will) number of humans alive exceed previous cumulative amount (not including ones living)? See http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/wp98001.html. 'Ages' also are not usually recognized by people in them - the 'Art Deco' movement was not labelled as such till the 60s even though it flourished in the 20s-30s. World War 1 was known as "the Great War" while it was happening. Da Vinci probably had no idea he was living in "The Renaissance"
The Renaissance was generally recognized by people living at the time, though I don't know about Leo. Indeed, the discontinuity with the Middle Ages wasn't nearly as significant as they thought, and were it not for them we might not ascribe so much significance to the period.
What name would our age now have?
An age of Organization by Invention and Centralization
Perhaps CentralizationByMerging?
Followed by an interim Reactionary Division and Destruction and then a New Age?
I would suggest that ages are composed of multi-generational social developments which begin in crisis and end in crisis, only to provide opportunities for a new beginning in which the old way of doing things is scraped and the wheel is reinvented.
There might be PossibleWorlds where Alexander von Humbolt's Cosmos does not appear in 1845
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