A limitless supply of spare organs, hard evidence for aliens and a machine that puts you in the mind of an animal. These are some of the predictions about the world of 2056 by a batch of the planet's most prominent scientists, including the psychologist Steven Pinker, the philosopher Dan Dennett, the astronomer royal, Sir Martin Rees, and the architect of the Beagle 2 Mars mission, Colin Pillinger. New Scientist magazine has assembled their thoughts to mark its 50th anniversary, and high on the list was proof that we are not alone. A visit from little green men in flying saucers seems unlikely by 2056, but the experts are convinced the universe will soon feel a less lonely place. Freeman Dyson at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton is undeterred by our failure to find any cosmic neighbours so far. He told the magazine: "That proves life is rarer than we hoped, but does not prove that the universe is lifeless." Once we find proof of extraterrestrials, further discoveries will follow quickly, as we will know what we are looking for, he said.

Paul Davies, a physicist at Arizona State University in Tempe, speculated that we may not have to look far. "There could be aliens right here, under our noses. Most life is microbial, and you can't tell just by looking whether a microbe is 'our' life or alien," he said. "The search for terrestrial aliens has only just begun. If they are here, they could be identified soon." "How different might alien life be?" asked Chris McKay at NASA, "It might be as different as English and Chinese." Life on Earth will also be transformed, scientists predict, with farms designated to grow human organs. By 2056, even the most sophisticated medicine of the 20th century will begin to look barbaric.

View: Full Article | Source: Guardian Unlimited

Hopefully I'll be alive by then. I will have 54 years.

You never know what will happen in the future how do you know that we won't have died out or civilization collapse by then?

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so...are u 4 years old right now ?

Agreed. It's entirely possible that human population has crashed by then to a billion people or fewer because of environmental destruction. It could be even worse. Maybe there will be isolated groups of people just getting by.

On the other hand, it's also possible that people will have loosened their grip on the planet voluntarily, letting earth breathe a little and recover, and humans may keep themselves to sustainable numbers by then.

I'll be 102 in 2056. Let's check in then and see how these predictions come out.

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Who are you trying to insult? There is no need to insult!

I wonder if these predictions are like the ones I heard about growing up, that by the year 2000 we would have flying cars, Moonbases, colonies on Mars, etc.

I remember those too. They're very amusing. A flying car for everybody, colonies on the moon, robots doing all the work so humans can lounge around all day, meals in pill form...

They underestimated a few things though. Nobody was crazy enough predict that we'd be wearing computers on our wrists. The wildest stories from long ago had one or two giant computers underground being tended by armies of technicians. Nobody guessed they'd get so small and cheap.

So basically what you're saying is that if I want to eat fresh liver I won't have to go very far.

at first I thought he said "as different as THE English and Chinese."

That made me LOL

just read the bible....we will be here, but not like we are use to...but we will have something our present time does not have....peace..total global peace..and harmony...armaggeddon will be over by then and we will have only one deity to answer to...

allot of the great achievements predicted in the early 1950's were--

power would be so cheap by the 1980 --houses wouldn't even require a power meter.

and the air will be filled by flying cars.

and the ever--popular 'advances in medicine will have cured nearly disease by the early 1990's.

i'm sure that by 2050's well be living in a nano-botic utopia . with robots catering to our every whim. hardship, famine, poverty and sickness will be things of the past--

but haven't we heard this several times before???

There won't be fish then if what they say is true

I am the same age as Blizno so eating will not be a problem. Just pour some Gerber's Baby Food past my gums and hope that's not to Rich for me!

As for the "Pie in the Sky" ideas, I am not as optimistic. We have a large group of people in this world that want to revert back to sword fighting and horse back(Camel?). Technology frightens them and will tear any advanced civilization apart. Be nice if humans can maintain a 1800's life style after "The BIG ONE" knocks us all down.

Pessimisism runs in my family!

I'll be 64 at the start of 06 so I'll (hopefully) be around to confirm these.

What will life be like in 2056;.....................I(human)ROBOT.

I think that scientists should stop trying to predict the future. I don't care if you get all the smartest people together and put them in a room to think about it, because in 2056 they will all turn out to be 99% wrong. Predicting tomorrows weather already proves too difficult half the time, how are you supposed to predict the entire course of mankind? Everyone said it themselves, they did this 50 years ago and look how off they were.

Wrong, wrong, and wrong. There won't be a need for spare organs...regeneration will be state of the art and easily obtainable. There won't be hard evidence for aliens because they still won't exist 50 years from now. There isn't much monetary stimulation for producing machines that put you in the mind of an animal.

What is coming? Nano-technology combined with advances in computer enhanced brain wave activity will allow the paralyzed to walk. Total body scans will be matter of fact...when the doctor tells you that your left ventricle artery is clogged, he will simply inject a solution of nano-bot cleaning agents that will actually remove the clogs in your veins and arteries. If you have a heart that is close to the end of usefulness you will have the opportunity to regenerate another heart inside your chest and nano-bot agents will rebuild the arterial support for the new heart and then remove the old arteries.

Scientists! What rock did they scrape these idiots out from under?

At least this article is good for a laugh


Maybe one day we will learn to stop trying to predict the future and rather concentrate on what we can do here and now to improve matters.

100% agree with joc, although I am not to sure if I want 'nanos' running around in my body...

I agree with many of you, it is totally useless to try to predict what will be going on in 50 years, its just like how in the 50s everyone thought we'd have moon bases, robots and flying cars by 2000. Bagh all we had was a scare over a computer glitch.

AS for there being peace and stability..er...I dont know....I'm hesitant to embrace Fukuyama's "End of Hiistory" spiel.

I'll be 71 in 2056 and with any luck (and perhaps some nanobots) I'll have many more years to take it all in. ha.

By 2056 and beyond...

In a top ten listing, ''myths regarding human cloning'' It was said that by 2056 human cloning will be replication of turning humans and especially children into nothing more than comodities. I'm guessing for spare parts or mabe even a payless work force.....
''just add food & water''

Hopefully things will be good here on earth.

If it isn't peaceful and just by then, I fear it will be like some Arnold Shwartzanegger movie. Wait...

HAHAHAHAHAH ^^^


By the year 2056 Oprah will have died what will the world be like without oprah
ill be 72