[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").