Predictions

[koan]

Do you think the world will be a better or worse place 100 years from now? That is the original question. I think that it needs to be clarified a bit more. Do you think that the world will be a better or worse place for the majority of people in the world 100 years from now?

[OpenMind]

I would like to consider this, but I don't have a reference point to work from. For instance, do I think our world is better now than 100 years ago? By what criteria should I base my decision? It would also depend on where I sat on the social ladder. I simply don't know the answer but this has not been given as an option to vote on.

[koan]

Originally Posted by OpenMind

I would like to consider this, but I don't have a reference point to work from. For instance, do I think our world is better now than 100 years ago? By what criteria should I base my decision? It would also depend on where I sat on the social ladder. I simply don't know the answer but this has not been given as an option to vote on.

Because it's asking you to make a prediction. You'll have to decide what "better" means to you.

[OpenMind]

I still cannot form an opinion. It is too subjective and there are too many variables to consider. Today, I am content if I can make today better than yesterday. Some days I am content that I have another day. If I could predict whether tomorrow would be better than today, I might stand half a chance.
Can I speak from the perspective of a society? Again, some might find things to be better while others might find things worse.
I cannot determine whether our world today is better than it was 100 years ago. On the one hand, we are always struggling to make life better and easier for ourselves. On the other hand, the results of our endeavours create disadvantages. For me, there are only two options to choose from: I either don't know, or the improvements will be cancelled out by the disadvantages.

[koan]

I see. You'll have to abstain then, OM. You are right I left out "no change" in the options.

[Adam Zapple]

In a hundred years, personal interactions will be a rare. We already don't know our neighbors. We use to phone instead of visit, now we text instead of phone. I vote worse.

[Lulu2]

In a hundred years, the environment will have degraded beyond repair, hundreds of species will have vanished (including all great apes, our nearest genetic relatives) and devastation of rain forests will have changed air and water quality forever.

I won't even begin to think about human relations.

You can guess my vote.

[koan]

I believe jessi thinks the world will better in a few months

[Rain]

Due to my specific belief system, I know the earth will be better in 100 years.

[RedGlitter]

It will be worse overall. We will have outsmarted ourselves with our own technology and it will cause us to lose even more of our basic humanity which is not to say that our humanity is fab right now but there is still common decency and compassion to be seen. In 100 years that will be gone. So much of our world fabric stems from our humanness and when that's gone the world as a reasonably decent place will be lost. It will be our own greed and lack of compassion that will ruin our water, kill off our animals and each other.