JF Ptak Science Books LLC Post 465
This is a list of wide-thinking thinkers
ideas about revolutionary scientific changes will come in the next 20-50 years,
an outline list of the author and subjects appearing below. There are 157 entries, and I’ve included a
link to the full text HERE so that the full entry can be read. I haven’t read them all—the full text runs
about 150k words—though what I’ve picked around so far looks not terribly inspired
in spite of the high-pop value of the assembly.
I think that if you placed yourself back in time somewhat and viewed these
from a 1980’s mindset (and upping the 20-50 year timeframe to 40-70 years) the
ideas start to look very sharp. But we
aren’t in the ‘80’s and the ideas for the most part aren’t very big, and some
of them (I hate to say) are just goofy (and some of these come tagged along
some very big names). A bit on the project is taken from Newsweek, below
I’ve also constructed a Wordle of the entire document to see if anything interesting popped out, though the secret of interest remained hidden.
NEWSWEEK Crystal-Ball Time Newsweek, 31 december 2008
By Sharon Begley
Every December the
online intellectual salon called Edge, presided over by literary agent John
Brockman, asks a select (virtual) assembly of scientists to ponder a question,
such as what they are optimistic about (2007), what “dangerous” ideas
they have (2006) and what they believe is true but cannot prove (2005). As the
bell tolls on 2008 and rings in 2009, Edge is unveiling this year’s: “What game-changing scientific ideas and
developments do you expect to live to see?”
*KEVIN KELLY
Editor-At-Large, Wired; Author, New Rules for the New Economy
A NEW KIND OF MIND
_____
*HOWARD GARDNER
Psychologist, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Author, Five Minds for
the Future
CRACKING OPEN THE LOCKBOX OF TALENT
_____
TIMOTHY TAYLOR
Archaeologist, University of Bradford; Author, The Buried Soul
CULTURE
_____
JOHN GOTTMAN
Psychologist; Founder of Gottman Institute; Author (with Julie Gottman),
And Baby Makes Three
LABORATORY EARTH COLONIES
_____
ED REGIS
Science Writer, Author, What Is Life?
MOLECULAR MANUFACTURING
_____