[at-l] re: 2050

[Paul A Magnanti <pmags@juno.com>]

>Who'll be around in 2050 to talk about it on this elist?

I'll be approaching my 76th birthday, and if I am anything like my
grandad, will have a lovely garden full of tomatoes. Before the house was
sold, Dad was talking about planting a garden,too.  Must be genetic.

In all seriousness, what will the outdoors experience be like in 50
years? For one thing, people lugging a PC everywhere will be true, but
not that way we imagine! I am willing tobet money that a wristwatch will
be able to do a good chunk of what my computer can do as far as
communications is concerned. Voice mail/ Sattelite phone on something the
size of a wrist watch will not be something just from "Star Trek".

I also predict that the backcountry will be LESS crowded. Huh? Yep.

Regulations will be in place that will severly limit the amount of people
allowed in the backcountry. Govt inteference continues to grow, not
lessen.  OTOH, it seems less and less people like the outdoors as it is.
Right now it is "trendy". Maybe it will be trendy fifty years from now,
but with virtual reality being more of a, well reality, why bother to
actually get all hot and sweaty to climb a mountain when you can download
the simulation to your neural synapses  and experience it just like the
real thing?  Not my idea of fun, b ut my thought patterns were formed in
the late 20th century..I'll be an old fogie by then. :D
The VR thing might seem like science fiction now, but if someone told my
grandfather in 1950 that his grandson will be able to  access libraries
all over the world from his desktop, send messages to his family 2000
miles away in less than the time it takes to compose this e-mail,  and
many people will own a phone that can go anywhere and fit in a shirt
pocket, he would look at you quite skeptically. (But because he was a
thinker, he would want to know why you claim this... ;-D  )

OK..enough stabs at writing Science fiction type speculations!




*************************************************************************
**********
Eanie, Meanie. Jelly Beanie. The spirits are about to speak!
--Bullwinkle Moose
* From the AT-L |  Need help? http://www.backcountry.net/faq.html  *

==============================================================================