|
|
View Poll Results: Which of these will happen within 50 years? Check all that apply. | |||
A human celebrates his or her 130th birthday | 37 | 29.13% | |
A mile-high skyscraper is built somewhere in the world | 14 | 11.02% | |
A single war produces more than 20 million deaths | 36 | 28.35% | |
A third party holds the US Presidency | 36 | 28.35% | |
A U.S. president is assassinated | 52 | 40.94% | |
Anti-gravity is brought into everyday use | 10 | 7.87% | |
Artificial intelligence routinely conducts media interviews | 23 | 18.11% | |
At least one dinosaur will be alive | 10 | 7.87% | |
At least one human will have their brain transplanted into a cloned version of their own body. | 17 | 13.39% | |
Brick and mortar stores will cease to be the major means of purchases in the U.S. | 53 | 41.73% | |
Chiefs win a Super Bowl | 79 | 62.20% | |
Cure for cancer (Late-stage survival rates > 97%) | 29 | 22.83% | |
Earthquake of Magnitude 8.3 or greater strikes somewhere in the continental U.S. | 73 | 57.48% | |
Evidence of a pre-Ice Age civilization is discovered | 12 | 9.45% | |
Faster than light travel is achieved (human transport) | 8 | 6.30% | |
Flying cars | 23 | 18.11% | |
Food shortages lead to permanent ban on consumption of meat in at least one country (population > 10 million) | 23 | 18.11% | |
Households manufacture all necessary goods themselves, purchasing only raw materials and plans for 3D printing | 14 | 11.02% | |
Human sets foot on Mars | 66 | 51.97% | |
Humans can communicate directly with at least two species of animals. | 14 | 11.02% | |
Implantable computer/phone/internet devices are in 80+% of Americans | 33 | 25.98% | |
Large scale nuclear bomb dropped or launched in a hostile act | 40 | 31.50% | |
Major epidemic kills 10% or more of the US population | 18 | 14.17% | |
Major epidemic kills 25% or more of a nation’s population (nation > 10 million people) | 23 | 18.11% | |
Major meteor strike or other interplanetary event kills 1 million or more people | 5 | 3.94% | |
One-world government is established | 14 | 11.02% | |
Prenatal selection of certain traits will be possible for the middle class (e.g., height, nose shape, eye color) | 46 | 36.22% | |
Peaceful resolution to the Israel-Arab conflicts is achieved | 1 | 0.79% | |
Permanent cessation of Islamic extremism and terrorism | 2 | 1.57% | |
Permanent human presence on Mars | 5 | 3.94% | |
Permanent human presence on the moon | 18 | 14.17% | |
Poverty is eliminated in the U.S., based on minimum standards of living that are achieved | 5 | 3.94% | |
Proof of extraterrestrial life is confirmed | 35 | 27.56% | |
Race is no longer an issue of conflict, contention, or policy in the U.S. | 5 | 3.94% | |
Robot labor means that humans do not have to work to obtain basic needs (food, clothing, shelter) | 13 | 10.24% | |
Robot labor provides household servants for the middle class (maid, butler, etc.) | 26 | 20.47% | |
Small-scale radiation dirty bomb set off in hostile act | 60 | 47.24% | |
Space tourism becomes a feasible option for the American middle class | 33 | 25.98% | |
The US Senate OR House becomes majority female | 8 | 6.30% | |
The world ends as described in the holy book of your choice | 6 | 4.72% | |
Time travel to the future (more than one day) | 1 | 0.79% | |
Time travel to the past (more than one day) | 2 | 1.57% | |
U.S. adds at least one new state from territory that is not part of a current state | 32 | 25.20% | |
U.S. is no longer the world’s most powerful nation | 70 | 55.12% | |
U.S. no longer needs petroleum products as energy source | 25 | 19.69% | |
U.S. splits into two or more countries | 10 | 7.87% | |
None of these things will occur within 50 years. | 1 | 0.79% | |
Poll fail. We will invent time travel, so the future will cease to exist. | 5 | 3.94% | |
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 127. You may not vote on this poll |
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
|
11-26-2014, 06:07 PM | #1 | |
NFL's #1 Ermines Fan
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: My house
Casino cash: $2948491
VARSITY
|
Quote:
The USGS has this list of the largest earthquakes in America, and it's pretty interesting: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquak...largest_us.php Alaska rattle around a lot, but it looks like the official scoreboard shows only one earthquake in the continental US at or above 8.3 in recorded history, and it was in 1700. I thought the New Madrid quake was the biggest, but they're only showing those quakes at 7.5 to 7.9.
__________________
I'm putting random letters here as a celebration of free speech: xigrakgrah misorojeq rkemeseit. |
|
Posts: 141,716
|
11-26-2014, 02:41 PM | #2 |
NFL's #1 Ermines Fan
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: My house
Casino cash: $2948491
VARSITY
|
It barely missed the cut. I assumed that it was a given.
__________________
I'm putting random letters here as a celebration of free speech: xigrakgrah misorojeq rkemeseit. |
Posts: 141,716
|
11-26-2014, 04:21 PM | #3 |
NFL's #1 Ermines Fan
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: My house
Casino cash: $2948491
VARSITY
|
Mile-high skyscraper.
I agreed with cdcox on this, and voted no, though for a somewhat different reason. Simply put, I don't think a building that large is necessary in any sense. The current tallest buildings are being built solely as a tourism attraction; it's not that there's a need to build that high. I think the cost would be very high and there are better ways to invest in a tourism infrastructure. I think humans COULD build a building that tall, but I don't think anyone will want to, and I don't think businesses would want to be in the building. Frankly, it would be inconvenient if you were on an upper floor, not to mention a host of safety and security concerns.
__________________
I'm putting random letters here as a celebration of free speech: xigrakgrah misorojeq rkemeseit. |
Posts: 141,716
|
11-26-2014, 06:21 PM | #4 | |
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Austin
Casino cash: $2309112
|
Quote:
http://www.kingdomtowerskyscraper.com/ http://www.businessweek.com/articles...de-the-u-dot-s |
|
Posts: 19,591
|
11-26-2014, 06:24 PM | #5 | |
NFL's #1 Ermines Fan
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: My house
Casino cash: $2948491
VARSITY
|
Quote:
It's cool that they were originally planning for a mile, though. That's insane. It seems like you're messing with air traffic patterns at that level. I don't think I'd be comfortable with an office or a home that high, personally.
__________________
I'm putting random letters here as a celebration of free speech: xigrakgrah misorojeq rkemeseit. Last edited by Rain Man; 11-26-2014 at 06:30 PM.. |
|
Posts: 141,716
|
11-26-2014, 06:37 PM | #6 | |
You gotta kill a few people
Join Date: Sep 2007
Casino cash: $1712369
|
Quote:
Seems, with our finite amount of land on this planet, building up is the most logical thing to do. |
|
Posts: 44,515
|
11-26-2014, 07:43 PM | #7 |
NFL's #1 Ermines Fan
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: My house
Casino cash: $2948491
VARSITY
|
I dunno. In some places I suspect it makes sense, like islands and mountain valleys and ports where the land supply is truly finite. But there's still a whole lot of land in the world that's undeveloped. I don't really suspect there's a big need for tall buildings in most of the world, and particularly for 100+ story buildings.
__________________
I'm putting random letters here as a celebration of free speech: xigrakgrah misorojeq rkemeseit. |
Posts: 141,716
|
11-26-2014, 08:19 PM | #8 | |
You gotta kill a few people
Join Date: Sep 2007
Casino cash: $1712369
|
Quote:
I'm a conservationalist so this conversation probably won't go very far. |
|
Posts: 44,515
|
11-26-2014, 08:24 PM | #9 |
NFL's #1 Ermines Fan
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: My house
Casino cash: $2948491
VARSITY
|
You see streams and forests. Real estate moguls see opportunity.
__________________
I'm putting random letters here as a celebration of free speech: xigrakgrah misorojeq rkemeseit. |
Posts: 141,716
|
11-26-2014, 05:47 PM | #10 |
NFL's #1 Ermines Fan
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: My house
Casino cash: $2948491
VARSITY
|
Item 3: A war producing 20 million deaths.
I voted no on this one. To produce 20 million deaths, I think you have to have two big combatants going all out and throwing haymakers at each other. Unless someone launches nukes, we're talking about a sustained war that involves divisions and lots of people in uniforms and tanks and planes. First, I think that type of war is going out of style. It's expensive and generally unpopular. It's better to find some angry minority group and arm them, or do cyberwar on their infrastructure, or stuff like that. I don't think anybody wants to get into a big massive land war these days. Second, there aren't a lot of candidates for a war that produces 20 million casualties. At that scale, I can probably name the only real candidates: India vs. Pakistan Russia versus Ukraine or other former Soviet Republic Russia versus China Russia versus NATO Iran versus somebody, but I don't know who. Maybe whatever Iraq becomes. That said, there are other possibilities, such as: Israel gets pushed to the wall and nukes most of the surrounding countries Maybe Nigeria or Burma or Ethiopia gets into a really protracted fight against a neighbor. The most likely probability would be some very long and protracted civil war in some big third-world country that goes on for 20 years and kills a bunch of people each year. But it would take a really big country to lose 20 million internally. Maybe Nigeria or Vietnam or Mexico with the drug wars. But there aren't that many countries that could lose 20 million without something unprecedented happening. I think it's either a major nuclear war, which I think is unlikely, or a protracted civil war, which isn't likely to happen in a big enough country to produce that many casualties.
__________________
I'm putting random letters here as a celebration of free speech: xigrakgrah misorojeq rkemeseit. |
Posts: 141,716
|
11-26-2014, 06:03 PM | #11 |
"You like to drink?"
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: "I like to drink."
Casino cash: $2886869
|
Also, time travel is already possible assuming you can reach speeds approaching light.
__________________
Chiefs 2016 Opponents: Home: JAX, TEN, NO, TB, NYJ. Away: HOU, IND, ATL, CAR, PIT Chiefs 2017 Opponents: Home: BUF, MIA, PHI, WSH, AFC North. Away: NE, NYJ, NYG, DAL, AFC South |
Posts: 42,937
|
11-26-2014, 07:50 PM | #12 |
Immanentize The Eschaton
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: In Partibus Infidelium
Casino cash: $1855880
|
Evidence of a pre-Ice Age civilization is discovered
Can you give a timeline for this option? |
Posts: 55,999
|
11-26-2014, 08:03 PM | #13 | |
NFL's #1 Ermines Fan
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: My house
Casino cash: $2948491
VARSITY
|
Quote:
I guess technically it should be "before the end of the last ice".
__________________
I'm putting random letters here as a celebration of free speech: xigrakgrah misorojeq rkemeseit. |
|
Posts: 141,716
|
11-26-2014, 08:07 PM | #14 | |
Immanentize The Eschaton
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: In Partibus Infidelium
Casino cash: $1855880
|
Quote:
|
|
Posts: 55,999
|
11-26-2014, 08:12 PM | #15 | |
NFL's #1 Ermines Fan
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: My house
Casino cash: $2948491
VARSITY
|
Quote:
Let's adjust and go with something like "pre-Lascaux cave paintings".
__________________
I'm putting random letters here as a celebration of free speech: xigrakgrah misorojeq rkemeseit. |
|
Posts: 141,716
|
|
|