[lbo-talk] Americans' views on the next 40 years

James Leveque jamespl79 at googlemail.com
Wed Jun 23 02:48:29 PDT 2010


http://gawker.com/5570476/the-future-according-to-americans-talking-computers-and-terrorist-nukes

[I'd be interested in seeing a breakdown of the second and third statistics. What percentage believe that world war and nuclear terrorist attacks are inevitable because of American foreign policy, and what percentage believe it because they think Muslims can't stand freedom?]

What will life be like in 2050? Will there be a cure for cancer? What about talking computers? Contact with aliens? A *lady president*? I don't know! Why not ask America?

The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press polled 1,546 people by telephone to ask what they thought the future<http://gawker.com/tag/thefuture/>might hold. Here is what your life will be like in 2050, according to Americans:

- You will have artificial limbs ("66% say artificial arms and legs will

outperform real limbs").

- You probably lost those natural limbs in a world war ("58% see another

world war as definite or probable") or a nuclear terrorist attack ("53%

expect the United States to face a terrorist attack with nuclear weapons").

- But at least you won't have cancer. ("71% say that a cure for cancer

will probably or definitely have been found").

- You will be poor ("58% say that it is likely that the rich-poor gap

will grow").

- You will still be working ("86% says that it is probable that most

Americans will have to work into their 70s before retiring").

- Your best friend will be of a different race ("68% say that race

relations are likely to improve"), or an alien ("50% say that by 2050 there

definitely or probably will be evidence that humans are not alone in the

universe"), or a computer ("81% think computer science will have progressed

to the point where a computer will probably or definitely be able to carry

on a conversation indistinguishable from that of a human being").

- If your best friend is a female Latina, she might be president ("89%

say that a woman will definitely or probably be elected; 69% expect a

Hispanic to be elected U.S. president").

- You won't have read about her election in the paper ("64% say paper

editions of newspapers will no longer exist").

- Jesus will not have come back ("41% expect Jesus Christ to return").



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